Think Big

My Roaring '20s: 2001-2011

2012-01-16T23:57:00.004-05:00

There are places I remember, all my life, though some have changed. Some forever not for better. Some have gone and some remain. All these places had their moments, with lovers and friends, I still can recall. Some are dead and some are living. In my life, I've loved them all.

A few months before my 20th birthday, 9-11 happened. My sophomore year dorm at NYU was literally ten blocks away. Do you know what it's like to smell burning bodies and debris for four months and having your neighborhood feel like a ghost town? I do. For me, that time in my life was my ground zero. There was no where to go but up.

My twenties, from what i remember, in no particular order:

- graduated from NYU Film, the school i wanted to go to since i was 12

- saw Jake Gyllenhall from five feet away, until i was literally bum-rushed by the famous bum, Radio Man

- studied abroad in London and worked at the BBC headquarters in White City

- interned at New Line Cinema, Miramax, Tribeca Films, MTV, NBC News, ABC News

- worked at the first-ever Tribeca Film Festival - had to personally greet Susan Sarandon, Jon Stewart, Mat Groening, Amy Heckerling, Jane Campion and the great Lauren Bacall

- went to happy hour every Thursday with Kim for the first two years after graduation. loved to play with republicans' hearts at all those wall street bars. i'm liberal, haven't you guessed?

- speaking of, obama was elected! i had a small fundraiser in my apartment that raised $400.

- conceived, planned and organized a demonstration/vigil with the huge help of erin funck and matt farber (www.numberthedead.blogspot.com). YES! i started a revolution. (not really.)

- met Travis. all four band members. awesome.

- had my first boyfriend! fell in love for the first time. had my heart broken for the first time.

- saw coldplay six times (including their first appearance in nyc, before anyone knew them, and in london too)

- was a TA for one my favorite professor's class only because she was my favorite professor

- met some of the best friends of my life!

- hurt by some of the best friends of my life.
- !barcelona! one cool city, one night to remember. cubix: the coolest club ever. EVER. hoot with the owls, soar with the eagles. that's !barcelona! honorable mention: bar near beach with over 200 shots they light on fire. hot.

- met Jimmy Fallon. twice.

- was in the elevator with both Weinstein brothers and Robert de Niro

- saw the Mets, Yankees (from row 3), Knicks, Liberty, Rangers and NY Giants!

- met Paul McCartney and got so excited i dropped my camera with film. have no proof of encounter.

- saw Paul McCartney at Citi Field eight years after camera incident

- was in the elevator with Will Arnett, closest I'll get to arrested development. wanna see my chicken dance?

- worked at 30 rock

- partied on the SNL set, 8H, multiple times
- dad's advice on finding someone: all it takes is one date. so simple. so clear.

- fell in love again

- took a helicopter ride over NYC. a-mazing. felt like jack bauer.

- got a rush traveling for work for NBC. like NBC. still have my studio tour ticket from when i was 14.

- saw these bands live: travis, coldplay, radiohead, the fray, james brown, david gray, DMB, OAR, ok go, ben folds, aerosmith, paul mccartney, weezer, black keys, aqualung, badly drawn boy, brian wilson, the wailers, counting crows, dave mason, eric clapton, death cab for cutie, fiona apple, flaming lips, franz ferdinand, gorillaz, jack johnson, hot chip, luxe pop, james blunt, oasis, john mayer, u2, john mayer, stereophonics, kings of leon, keane, flaming lips, beck, phoenix, cat power, scissor sisters, sheryl crow, vampire weekend and more i can't remember!
- also saw stand by by bill maher and joel mchale. heart.

- saw james brown on new years eve at bb kings in times sq in a booth to the left of the stage with unlimited alcohol. counting down with james brown. best new years ever!!!
- got flowers from a boy... finally.

- made a short, thriller film and submitted it to sundance, called "the neighbor"

- my cat jazz of 15 years passed away. i still miss that cat. she was one cool cat.

- saw lord of the rings, all three in three years at radio city with a live orchestra for the soundtrack. top five best gifts ever.

- met Hanson, the band i loved in high school. had a 15 minute convo with taylor hanson at a party about music. still in shock.

- played kickball. awesome decision. love you guys. goooo honey badgers!
- threw two NYE parties, a cinco de mayo party, a surprise 30th birthday party, a "we're not going back to school party," three halloween parties, a housewarming party and every single one involved jello shots!

- saw the rockefeller tree lighting… from inside 30 rock, 4th floor.

- went to hawaii. snorkeled at molokini crater island. saw the sun rise from mount haleakala.

- traveled around europe. loved everywhere. loved everyone. danced the night away. 10p. last call.
- tried absinthe while studying in london. the green fairy!

- rode the subway with mayor bloomberg. pure coincidence.
- got little eva, a little bear of a black cat, who can roll over seven times in a row

- spent new years eve on the rooftop of some apartment in covent garden. saw fireworks off the eye. awesome.

- visited tintern abbey, walt whitman's "entire life behind things"

- attended and was in my first gay wedding! all thanks to sabrina and courtney! x

- lost 4 pounds on the donut diet in 2005
- ran the Goshen turkey trot twice with my dad - all 6.2 hilly miles. barf.

- watched the wire, FNL and arrested development. best shows ever. EVER!

- had f**ing amazing parties at my parents' house in CT… with my parents were there! thanks for being the best f***ing parents ever.

- #7

- bush finally went home! god, what an awful president for my twenties. he didn't know how to complete a sentence. i don't miss you, rummy, condo or cheney. good riddance.

- looking through older posts, you'd think robert evans was my hero. he did have some good quotes…

- learned guitar. yes, dan smith can teach you guitar!
- spent seven days on the road documenting the largest tornado chase in history, vortex 2.

- got my first job right out of college! as a PA on a daily morning show on the hallmark channel. thanks to sandra, steve, todd, greg, emily, tina for my those years count. means more than you know!

- chris, thanks for taking this photo. i never felt pretty. and even though i didn't figure out makeup until after college, i still appreciate this photo: http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7503/1325/1600/121-2103_IMG.jpg that was on the train to elstree aka hells tree. oh, bbc.

- osama bin laden was killed. you almost made me give my dream since i was 12.

- i started a blog, this blog. Think Big in 2005. i still think big. i always want to think big. if i ever stop thinking big, i've stopped being me.

- listening to jesse selwyn and chris ugbode on guitars = fantastic.

- NYUnite 2010.

- went to singer island and key west with my mom and dad. we danced, we drank, we saw hemmingway's house. and was saw the sunset of ALL TIME! it was fantastic. this is one of my favorite photos of them of all time… http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7503/1325/1600/IMG_1862.1.jpg

- interviewed and now work for Arianna Huffington doing what i do best and what i love to do
- clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose

Yes, it was definitely my roaring twenties. a special shout out to Mary Grace, for inspiring me. My twenties were… a big question mark. Where am I going? Who am I going to be? My thirties… an exclamation point. I know what I what and I'm ready to go and get it!!!

Cracked the Code!

2011-12-10T00:22:00.000-05:00

The end of the world is not December 2012. It's December 2011 and it falls on my birthday. As shown in the weather.com webpage below, there's no weather for December 19th. It's "N/A", which means that day is not happening. It's the end of the world, as we know it...

Tattoo: thoughts?

2011-11-29T23:31:00.000-05:00

What do you think? I figured a test run was a good idea - especially since I want to get one before I turn 30 (in three weeks). It only took Matt and Court three tries to get it somewhat in size and legible. I'm thinking it's a-go this weekend. Thoughts?

And... we're back!

2011-08-21T01:51:00.001-04:00

Happy Cabbie NYC
I got into the cab and was greeted by "I'm your happy cabbie. This is going to be the best cab ride you've ever had." I'm not kidding. That's exactly what he said, in his Indian accent. I thought, OK, well that's fine with me. We drove down Rivington and, hard as it was to believe, my cabbie was making a scene. On Rivington. A scene in itself. He did this by turning the top 40 music volume really low and then really loud, as if it was cool.

Then, as we hit Houston and 1st, ast the light hit yellow, the cab booked it. We hit 1st street, light turns yellow, he zooms pas it. 2nd, 3rd...faster and faster. That's really what I wanted in a cabbie. To go as fast as you possible can up the avenue. We barely made every light, and before I knew it, we were at 14th in less than 50 seconds. Incredible.

He kept saying, peace and love, peace and love. I just loved I was still alive. He dropped me off and said, I kid you not I told you this would be best cabe ride of your life and it truly was.
--> Check him out (I kid you not): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EXC69Fv7tg

Summertime
Quite arguably the best two commercials of the summers past:
pink moon ak volkswagon:
--> seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIOW9fLT9eY
AND
it's most wonderful time of the year aka staples:
--> seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPIIMbG9R4w

Mets...Why?!
Every time! Every freakin' time! I hope to become a Mets fan... one day. Every time I go to their awesome stadium, I try to like them. We really go well together - underdogs hoping to prove their worth. But they inevitably always blow it. Always. Without fail. Today was no exception. Let me show you what it means to root for the Mets...

Bottom of the 7th. Mets up to bat. Brewers have a commanding 7-1 lead. The 20 year old Met... forgot his name, comes up to bat and it's rally time. This is the shortstop for the Mets and, you heard it hear first, the next Jeter. He gets a hit and lands on base. It's rally time. In that inning, they come back to take a 9-7, which included a home run. The 8th inning... three up, three down.

Nearly game over, as the Brewers get up to bat at top of the 9th. The first Mets relief pitcher not only loads the bases... but walks someone home. I mean, really. Then, as predicted, a left hits it out to right field for the sacrifice fly. Bringing the Brewers up to 9-9 and, as predicted, taking the lead to the win of 11-9. Shameful. Disappointed. Let down. That's the Mets (and the Knicks. But that's a whole other post).

2011

2011-01-19T23:59:00.000-05:00

A SIGN OF THE TIMES: I
I keep feeling like I'm forgetting someone's birthday. I check the date and nope, no birthdays come to mind. And thanks to the power of Facebook, no big (aka real friends I know) birthdays are listed.

We have more information at our fingertips than ever before - but if I lost my phone, I'd be screwed. I only know a few numbers off the top of my head and most of them originated in the early 80s: my parents' house, my parents' office and of course, Seth (his verizon number, not his google one). If my gmail was hacked and all my addresses were deleted, I'd be screwed. And if I didn't have Facebook at my disposal, I'd only remember a few key birthdays and overall would be screwed.

More equals less. More technology, less remembering. More social network, less real life network. More media, more work for me! Ok, but you get the point: just because we have more at our fingertips doesn't mean we have everything in our world. Such are the times.

A SIGN OF THE TIMES: II
Some people are stunned that "The Social Network" took home the Golden Globe for best picture. At first, I was too. But the more I read, the more I understand that this movie really is a sign of the times. It's almost hard to believe it came out in the midst of this whole social network boom (as oppose to in retrospect).

For some, I know it's hard to see. Decades from now, when we look back at this moment in time, we'll know: this movie defined the first decade of the 21st century. It was/is a time of facebook me" or "gchat me" or "bbm me." It's also a time of young entrepreneurs who can get rich, quick off this technology boom. Applications, websites, networks. All you need is one and boom! you're it! Some are just lucky; other's are smart. Mark Zuckerberg proved he's no toddler CEO. He also proved to be great writing material!

With an excellent script - the dialogue is exceptional - and an intriguing story of the times, I can understand why "The Social Network" won the globe. Get used to it because it's probably going to win the Oscar.

A SIGN OF THE TIMES: III
I can't handle a hangover like I used to. I can't eat and not gain weight like I used to. And I can't run without my knees hurting like I used to. A sign of the times that I'm in my late twenties and not my early twenties. But I'm OK with that.

The Beginning of the End of the Roaring Twenties!

2010-12-20T00:06:00.000-05:00

It was probably one of the best birthdays ever - a whole weekend dedicated to my favorite quote:

The question is not, 'what are we going to do today?' The question is, 'what aren't we going to do today?'
- Ferris Bueller

What did I do? For starters, I got to see (mostly) everyone I love to be around. I had a premiere/wrap party for my first official short film since college - The Neighbor. www.neighborshortfilm.com I had an awesome private party at Beauty Bar where I got to play whatever music I wanted. I went on a dinner cruise around New York City with a live band and great views. I had the best molten chocolate cake. Ever. I got to go to my favorite wine bar in the city, Sofia. I had childhood friends come down from CT to celebrate my 29th birthday. I went to the movies (Black Swan is crazy/good). I even got the white lilies I dream of every year.

In a sense, it was all about me. But really, it was all about me being around the people that make life worth living and getting to live it up on this day. What a way to begin the last year of my roaring twenties.

I Hate The Neighbors Above!

2010-11-14T02:26:00.003-05:00

It's 2:30am. I should be asleep by now. I'm on antibiotics, thanks to strep, have taken two tylenols and am all-around tired due to my sickness. By all means, I should be asleep. But I'm not. Why? Because the neighbors above cannot go one minute without making some noise involving the floor. Wearing heels, dropping heels on floor, dropping other things on the floor I can't identify, walking around, pulling chairs out, moving furniture. Seriously, it's an NYC bedroom... how much room do you possibly have to make all this noise, constantly?!

I hate them. I really do. I went up in September to ask them to not wear their shoes in the morning until they leave for work. They had this uncanny habit of waking up at 7am, putting their shoes on and not leave until 10am. I wake up at 9am. You can see the problem. Since then, they haven't done it. And yet, on weekends they seem to forget that the floor is paper thin. Next time this happens, I'm grabbin the bat and swinging away at the ceiling, "Friends" style.

I'm just super upset. I *need* to get better. I have a huge project this week to tackle. I'll never get better without a proper night's sleep. (Because last night, it was the same story). And while I can nap tomorrow afternoon...I really can't because these neighbors above seem to have no life. They never seem to leave the apartment. Losers.

I can't wait to move. I honestly can't wait to get out of here. I'm sick. I'm tired. And I'm angry. This is how I spent my Saturday night, live.

Onward

2010-10-30T13:37:00.002-04:00

WTF Moment of the Day

Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhall. What the F. Seriously. She's 19. He's 29 (almost 30 -- we share the same birthday. Sigh. I digress...). We're talking about a girl who just recently dated a Jonas Brother and Taylor Lautner, 17, of Twilight fame. Yuck-o. And while Taylor Swift talks about the maturity of her songs, she writes about every guy who's done her wrong. Yeah, that's SO mature. You're 19 - you're not going to find true love yet. Duh. To sum it up, Jake has gone way down in my book. As Jay-Z would say, "On to the next one." And the next one would be Michael Pitt, who I've loved since his debut in "Dawson's Creek" and more recently "Funny Games" and super recent, as in current, "Boardwalk Empire." Yum.

Speaking of Vomiting...Do we really need to entertain the idea of President Palin? New York Magazine... I nearly threw up with your latest cover. Blaaah. On to the next one.,,

The Parents: An Update

Can I just say that my dad is the best dad on the planet. Yesterday was an intense day and as a result, I had an oversight. It was a small oversight, but one nonetheless. So of course, I have to tell someone about it (via gchat).

dharma1953: do not get cranked up on this

me: im not <--(i was tho)

dharma1953: good

me: i just hate not doing things well

dharma1953: in a chaotic situation those things happen

your skills are still exceptional; one small mistake doesnt change that

if it really was a mistake

Positive reenforcement and grounding - just what I needed to plow through. And that's exactly what I did.

In other news, my mom has finally figured out how to text. At first, I didn't think anything of it when I say a text from "Parents Cell" and it read "I'm home now." But then I realized it was a full sentence -- not an automatic text like "PLEASE CALL." The following night I got another text -- "Hi x x x." And so, there it is. My mom has entered the age of technology. Of course, I had to quickly remind her that her plan does not include texting (yet).

Rules of Three

They always taught us in film school to remember the rule of three. If you are trying to show a routine of a character, have three different shots. If you are establishing a scene, use three broll shots before the scene starts. You'll notice this more and more as you watch shows -- the rule of three. I apply the rule of three to most cases in life, just not film. Like when a celebrity dies, two more will die right after because it's the rules of three.

I want to wrap up this post, but I've only talked about two subjects. It just seems weird. Now this can be considered my third topic: rules of three. The post is now complete.

Seriously

2010-10-14T00:41:00.003-04:00

First Off..

Can celebrities stop acting like they are so inconveincenved when they have their photo taken? I don't know what they expected when they were hoping they'd make in Hollywood, but at this point, it's pretty obviously that when you become big, the paparazzi follows you. Even I know that. So get over it. Plus, they even help your career. If you want to avoid having your picture taken after a gym workout or eating at Katsuya or whatever it's called in LA... then live in Montana and get over it. I'm sick and tired of seeing your "I'm so annoyed by this camera in my face" pose on justjared.com. Seriously.

And Another Thing -

Democrats - grow some balls. Why are you running from the hills? Furthermore, why are you running away from this President? You have nothing to be ashamed of, you morons! President Obama has done everything he set out to do (maybe not in the best order, but he's still followed through): heath care for millions of new people, passed the stimulus bill (and a tax break for small businesses, ended the war in Iraq and set a time line for withdrawal from Afghanistan, revitalized the relationships between the USA and the world, etc. And that was just in two years. Let's take a breath and move forward. Republicans are good at two things - lying and acting like they did something. Did we all of sudden forget what the last 8 years were like? Again, grow some balls and move forward with pride. Stop running for the hills and stand by our man. Seriously.

Finally!

I only titled this section "Finally!" because it fit with the follow of this post. I'm sure all three of you who read this blog are saying, "Finally! Another Post!" Thanks, Mom. You can correct me on my spelling and grammatical errors later. I'm not quite sure how long I'll keep my new posting up...hopefully frequently. I have a lot to write about... a lot of things are happening in my life right now and I feel like writing may be the best way to figure it all out. Finally, the blog comes full circle and I need it again. Like seriously.

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts!

2010-07-27T15:39:00.005-04:00

I met Jason Street (aka Scott Porter) and actually hung out with him! What a thrill... Friday Night Lights is one of my favorite TV shows... ever! He was super nice and fun to be around. Clear eyes, full hearts - can't lose!

Part 2: IN MY LIFE

2010-01-23T23:53:00.010-05:00

*I was 18 when the year 2000 began. A lot has happened since then.

The following posts serve as my eye witness account to the past ten years.
I hope you enjoy my slice-of-life history.
-----------------------------------------------

IN MY LIFE
(The Beatles)

There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed.
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain.

All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall.
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all.

VI: September 2000
Weinstein 3A, my freshman year floor. Mary Grace told before I left that “your floor is your family.” And she was right. Some of my closest friends today I met on that floor. It’s funny, I remember distinctively when the first time I met them and I kinda knew we’d be friends for a long time. Similarly, some of my closest friends now I met the first day of class. The very first day of class. And we are still close today. Rare.

We always seem to look back at past relationships, specifically in love, and see where things went right and wrong. We hardly look back at moments at the beginning of great friendships. These were the events that lead up to us being great friends. Who knew?

One of my favorite 3A moments – and I know I’m not alone on this one – is the BLOWOUT between Candice and Joe. Joe was mad because Candice shrunk his expensive hoodie in the laundry and Candice was mad at Joe for scratching her favorite CD. I think the entire floor was watching this catfight unfold. We had a floor full of characters: Joe and Beau who were yin and yang in style, but got along splendidly as roommates, Ashley and Greta, and then the triple with Dan, John and Bryce, Jody and Scott (Scooter) lived next door. Nearly 1/2 of one side of the hall were Orthodox Jews. there was Mike and the guy that looked like Derek Jeter who got caught drinking in their room the first week. Michael and Samir were at the opposite end of the hallway, by Peter who looked like a model. And who could ever forget Aneesh, who lived with Joe G, across from the triple? Quite the floor my friends, quite the floor.

VII: September 2000-
One thing they always say about universities in big cities is that there is a temptation to go out all the time. Well, this is true and you do. The work gets done. I went to SoHo and the West Village quite a lot. But the thing I did all the time was go to concerts. I saw more bands in college, especially freshman year, than ever. New bands, big bands, semi-famous bands. Uptown, downtown, midtown, Brooklyn, Jersey, Connecticut, London.

VIII: January 16, 2001
I was coming back from winter break with my parents freshman year. As always, they were taking me out for one final meal before they dropped me off at Weinstein dorm. So there we were… my mom and I in line for the bathroom at Café Europa at 57th and 7th Ave. I was talking to her about getting an internship in NYC during the summer (I already had one at Noggin that semester, even though freshman at NYU Film were not allowed to intern). She said not to worry and to focus at the semester ahead. I love my mom. The man in front of us overheard our conversation, how could you not? This is how it played out:
Man: I’m sorry for overhearing, but did you move to the city?
Me: No. I go to school here.
Man: Oh what school?
Me: NYU
Man: Oh I went there. I went to the film school.
Me: Oh, that’s where I go!
Man: Oh really? Well, I heard you saying something about internships… well I’m the director for “The Real World: New York” and we are looking for interns. Are you interested?
Mom: Ohmigod… she loves that show!
Me: Yes!
Man: Great! Well I’m gonna use the bathroom. Once you’re done, come upstairs and find me. My camera guy and I are sitting by the window. We are doing test runs.
Me: Ok. Sounds great!
Man: Excellent!

The guy, Victor, went in to use the bathroom (there was only one) and while he was in there, my mom and I had a breakdown. OMG. The “Real world?!?” I loved that show. We watched it every Tuesday night in my dorm room! I had parties to watch it. We were trying to figure out where the house was they would live in for NYC… and now I would know because I would be the assistant to the head director of the show. Crazy. Sometimes it’s all about being at the right place at the right time.

IX: May 21, 2001
Freshman year comes to an end. It went by so fast, it seems like it didn’t exist. I don’t even remember what I was like when my parents picked me up. But I do remember the night before.

Everyone left at different times. So people left before the last day because they were through with exams. Sometimes I think we love things so much more in retrospect. Everything looks better when we look back. We remember the good times and not the bad one. They are there and when it really matters, we’ll talk about them. But I don’t need to mention that my freshman year roommate went out of her way to hook up with the only two boys I really liked. But such is college life.

I digress. Everyone left at different times. It was sad. Really sad. I went home. I got a job at the local movie theater because I thought, at least I can see free movies. And that’s what I did.

X: June 2001
I ended up working at the only movie theater in town before freshman year, but the one in our town was too small and not hiring. So they referred me to the bigger theater 20 minutes away, which was even better. Now I wouldn’t know anyone, plus it had like 4 more theater = more movies!

Mostly everyone who worked there was rather cool. Everyone was a character, though. I know where sitcoms get their material from. We use to try to throw ice into the different size popcorn bags… 12 feet above the food counter. We used to have midnight movies… where we would have a private screening of a movie that was gonna be a blockbuster the night before it came out. We used to gossip about the different couples that came and went amongst the employees. Oh movie theater! I enjoyed the days.

Part 1: Bookends

2010-01-13T22:55:00.010-05:00

*I was 18 when the year 2000 began. A lot has happened since then.

The following posts serve as my eye witness account to the past ten years.
I hope you enjoy my slice-of-life history.

------------------------------------------------

BOOKENDS

Time it was, and what a time it was, it was
A time of innocence, a time of confidences
Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories, they're all that's left.
(Simon and Garfunkel)

I: January 1, 2000
As I look back at these past ten years, my first memory of 2000 is that of good times with old friends, all four of who I am still close with today.

In a true role reversal, my parents had gone out to a big New Year’s Eve party that night. So there we were, the five of us, at my parents’ house, dressed to the nines, sipping sparkling cider and playing taboo. We were 18 (some 17) and that was good enough for us. No boys. No alcohol. Just the meat and potatoes between friends.

When I look back over this past decade, and think of everything that I have experienced, it has become obvious to me that, man, some friends are with you for the long haul.

II: March 21, 2000
Of course, this is not always the case with friendship. Some friends come, and some friends go...in different ways and at different times in our lives. Early on in 2000, March 21st to be exact, my closest friend, my grandma Shirley, passed away. It was totally unexpected, which made it even harder. She was my confidante and my cheerleader. She was someone to laugh with and someone to cry with. I loved her dearly. I always think of her from time to time and in that sense, she’s never truly gone. But oh, if she could see me now!

III: June 8, 2000
I graduated from high school...an elite private school. I will never work that hard again in my life. But I got through it and I was heading off to the college I wanted to go to since I was 12 years old, NYU Film, to fulfill my dream of making movies. Looking back at this time in my life, I shake my head with a smile. To think of all the things that laid before me…

IV: June 10-21, 2000
Europe! The best way to prepare for college! It was a three-week trip and I had one of the best times of my life. I went with Mary Grace, who is the closest I’ll ever come to having a sister. This journey would not have been nearly as exciting without her. We went to London, Dover, Amsterdam, the Rhine Valley (Germany), Innsbruck (Austria), Lucerne (Switzerland), Venice, Florence, Milan, Rome, Nice, Cannes, Lyon (France), and Paris. It was organized through Contiki, adventures for 18-35 year olds.

We traveled from city to city via a tour bus with 40 other people from around the world. Miraculously, we all got along and had a spectacular time. Whitewater rafting through the Alps, boating through the canals of Amsterdam, wine tasting in Germany (which, coincidentally was the first time I got drunk, which I didn’t realize it at first), gambling in Monaco, traveling through Venice in a gondola, riding down the top of a 7000 foot mountain (Mount Pilatus, Switzerland) in a cogwheel train – it’s hard to believe I did all of that and I probably will never get the chance to do any of these things again. That’s what makes it so sweet. That’s also what makes it so bittersweet. Let’s hope to having a once in a lifetime opportunity more than once in a lifetime.

V: August 2000
This was definitely the case with college. It’s four, carefree years of constant fun. I almost don’t know why they bother to keep high schools around because college is one big step back from any sort of responsibility. I regret not exercising my right to skip or sleep through class enough. Because now, when that alarm clock goes off every morning for work, I think, man, why? Why didn’t I sleep through more alarms when I had the opportunity? Most of my classes didn’t start until after 11am and I had three or even four-day weekends. In the real world, your schedule just automatically sucks right after college.

The Beginning

2010-01-03T16:33:00.005-05:00

Everyone will be happy to know that I am writing a very long post regarding the last ten years. I wanted to give you the heads up on this, after my absence over the last few months. Get excited. I'm baaaaaack!

Look for the new post in the next few days. Meanwhile, enjoy the beginning of the new year, new decade and new adventures!

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

-Semisonic

"The end? No. This is just the beginning."

-Gandolf from Lord of the Rings

"Go forth and try, try, try for ten thousand years."

-Zen saying

(500) Days of My Youth

2009-09-25T02:12:00.004-04:00

I just saw (500) Days of Summer and I think its fantastic. It was SO good. I know I say that, but I when I use capital letters, I mean it was SOO good. I went into work today as if I knew the secret to life because this movie created such a high for me. They say right up front "this is not a love story," and, it's not. But, it is about love and the annoyance of love... Seriously, if there is one movie to see this year, it's this.

It's like watching a six year-old open their presents from Santa.

It's like that first week of senior year of college, where you just don't care.

It's like that one moment of happiness, but on the big screen.

It's like thinking this movie was made just for you.

It's like the beginning of the end of the beginning.

It's like every emotion you've already felt before.

It's like being there and knowing that...

So, if there is only one film you see this summer, this autumn or this winter, it's (500) Days of Summer. Did I mention that as a result of this film, I'm finally writing a screenplay? First time in 11 years I've done this... kinda weird... seeing that the last time I wrote a screenplay was when I was 17 years old. Ironically enough it's about the many days of my youth.

4 Years Old!

2009-07-25T09:28:00.003-04:00

I normally forget to mention the birth of my blog, four years ago... just as blogs were becoming big. I did however remember that it is July and that a few days ago was the anniversary of when "Think Big" was created.

Yes, my blog is four years old. There have been high times and low times, but all recorded on blogspot nonetheless. While I think my earlier posts are some of my best ones, there have been a few groundbreaking posts here and there.

That said, I hope to continue this fine tradition of blogging with many more great stories to come. I actually have some good ideas brewing as I type.... Coming soon.

What We Inherited from Michael Jackson

2009-06-28T01:15:00.005-04:00

“You want what you create to live, be it sculpture or paintings or music or a composition. Like Michelangelo said, 'I know the creator will go but his work survives, that is why to escape death, I attempt to bind my soul to my work.' That's how I feel. I give my all in my work, 'cause I want it to just live and just give all that I have, you know, and it has to be that way.”
– Michael Jackson, Ebony Magazine Interview 2007

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If there is one thing I can say about Michael Jackson is that this guy really gave it his all when it came to his music. After watching again and again his music videos and numerous television appearances and reading countless interviews, it is quite obvious that this guy was one of the hardest workers around.

I have to believe that he really, really loved music. He didn’t have to continue with music after Jackson 5 came to an end. Yet he did, and in a very revolutionary way. When you perform something like the Moonwalk – a move that was based off of break-dancing, which was quite popular at the time and come up with music videos like “ Thriller” and songs like “Black or white,” you are in a league of your own. And you have to be passionate about what you are doing to get there. Yes, Michael Jackson put his soul into his work for all of us to enjoy. In the end, after all is said and done, what we are left with is his music and that’s a great gift to inherit.

Why? Because not a party playlist goes by without a Michael Jackson song. From “ I want you back” to Billie Jean” to “Black or White” – these songs can be recognized within the first five notes and that alone makes them great. Because his dance moves are still being emulated in youtube videos twenty-five years after they were performed. Because MTV (and music videos) probably would not be as successful if Michael Jackson hadn’t pushed the boundaries when it came to this art form. When I think of who we have going for us today – Britney Spears, The Jonas Brothers, Rihanna and the likes – they really bring half of what Michael brought to the table.

When discussing the death of Michael Jackson with my dad, he said he would not put Michael in the same league as The Beatles, Elvis and Frank Sinatra, given that these guys had way more number one hits, some times consecutive and, in the case of Sinatra, a career that spanned 60 years. He even went thought Jackson was not even in the same league as Elton John. But I have to disagree, for the reasons above and, not to mention, Jackson’s career lasted nearly forty years. I really hope that my parents’ generation can see the impact he had on the kids who grew up after them. An album like Thriller - the highest selling album of all time – does not come around often, if only once a generation.

Eventually this media frenzy will die down and we’ll go on with our lives. For now it is Michael 24/7, even at work. You cannot turn a street corner without hearing him from a bar, a cab or an apartment, even my own. I even don’t mind if anyone asks me if I’m ok – Annie are you ok? Are you ok Annie? Unfortunately even though the “King of Pop” is no longer with us, “Smooth Criminal” always will be. Thanks Michael, for giving us so much.

Bo, The Official Portrait

2009-06-20T11:54:00.006-04:00

As if we didn't love the Obamas enough, they have to go and release this official portrait of their newest family member, Bo:

PS - Is anyone having a hard time viewing some of the photos I've posted? It seems like they come up as a big X on the screen, depending on which computer I am using. Please let me know if this is the case... Muchas gracias.

Twister: I don't think we are in Hollywood anymore.

2009-06-16T22:29:00.006-04:00

I never know when I will ever be able to say the line "I just got back from storm chasing." It may be never again, so I will say it this time. I guess that's one of the thing that makes this experience so rewarding - that it is as unique as a solar eclipse. Most of the scientists would agree; they too considered this a once in a lifetime gig. And it is. The last time a large fleet studied tornadoes it was in 1995 and that was small compared to this year's armada: one hundred scientists (and grad and phd students) from around the world, over 40 vehicles and 30 instruments. Yes, this is the large scientific experiment in history. So here we are, in the center of tornado alley, waiting for a twister to drop.

Of course, as I have learned, there is still debate over whether or not a tornado drops. They still do not know if one forms from the clouds down or the ground up. As one scientist put it, "If it forms from the ground up, we'd have to say the tornado touched up and not touchdown." That is one objective of this mission - to find out more about tornadoes because there is still a lot about them that is unknown. That definitely surprised me, especially since we live in an very technical time.

So I'm on the chase to find out more about mother nature's funnel fury. Several people asked me, "Are you scared?" My answer was no because we are with all these scientists. I thought that the safest time for me to see a tornado would be with these people. However, panic did set in when we initially had to meet up with the armada who were chasing a storm in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception after landing somewhere in the middle west and driving five hours. Basically, if we were chasing them and they were chasing the storm, then how would know if a tornado was not going to come out of nowhere and land on the car? That was my only fear-instilled moment. But we soon caught up with one of the teams and we exhaled.

Most people think this is quite exiting and it is, when you actually have a decent storm with the potential of rotation. But for the other 95% of the time, you are driving and waiting. A passion has to exist to do this for a living, that's for sure. It must be a humbling experience to stand in front of something produce by the same force that keeps the planets in orbit. That's a pretty awesome power, one I would jump at the chance to witness. I'll save you the suspense: we never saw a tornado in the week we were out there. We came close and I definitely watched as rotational clouds passed over us. That moment alone was enough to put me in my place in the universe and, for a second, I lost my breath.

"I don't think we are in Kansas anymore, Dorothy."

2009-06-14T23:10:00.002-04:00

I will be posting my adventures of tornado chasing in the midwest within the next day!

Until then, enjoy a preview (following a radar truck through Kansas):

Pink Moon, anyone?

2009-05-28T00:21:00.003-04:00

ya know, it is certain instances that make you really understand why you love someone. i was on the computer, playing some music from the soundtrack "garden state" and seth he requests, "put some nick drake on." he insists. "please - put on some nick drake." it sounded urgent. like he NEEDED to hear nick drake right at that moment and so i put on "pink moon." and, funny as it was, it almost seemed like i HAD to hear nick drake too. as if he knew that....

then we started to listen to a bunch of nick drake songs because once you start with one, you have to continue. it's infectious. if only he was around to know that. with each nick drake song, i could put my past years in context. starting with pink moon. the vw commercial is when i first heard it. it was the summer between my freshman and sophomore of college. it was the first time in my life a boy actually paid attention to me. we used to drive around our towns at night and listen to this song again and again. it was such a simple thing to do - listen to songs and drive around, but those nights still resonate within me. (the commercial was clearly conceived by someone like myself). while i could recreate nights like that, it would not be the same. i'd be looking up at the stars wondering how i would get this project done well or how i would direct this scene and other worries you have once you are in the real world.

of course, the song "fly" will hold a special place, but i am not sure if it is in my heart. it was featured in the "royal tenenbaums" which came out in december after 9-11. that film holds pulls at something inside me, for reasons i do not want to go into. but in the film, which boasts an incredible soundtrack, has the song "fly" and of course, it fits so aptly in the film. and i will always remember the scene in which it plays in because it fits so well and because all you hear during this scene really is the song (a nice touch to the film, i do say).

nick drake seems to be a number one choice amongst some of my favorite films because it is also feature in "garden state." it's another great scene using nick drake. the scene, for some reason, would not work quite as well without "one of these things first." and again, does anyone want to go for a long ride across the country listening to this song? i'm ready.

i digress, though. being in love with someone who totally understands how important the music is that you listen to is an annomoly to me. and this isn't the first time (obviously) we'd have this music connection. it is so hard to find someone who matches up to all that you need them to, truly. having to be goal oriented, determined, trustworthy, good at giving advice, great at listening, being there, adventurous.... you know, all those personal details that need to line up. but making sure they get you in the music that you play... now that's a rarity.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow... is Citi Field

2009-05-13T19:48:00.003-04:00

I finally managed to make my way to one of the new stadiums, Citi Field, to see the Mets play. I have to say, going to Citi Field is so much more enticing than going to Yankee Stadium for several reasons. First, Shea was a dump and needed a new field, but the Yankees did not need a new stadium. How can you tear down a "house" with so much history? Second, the new Yankee Stadium is intimidating. It seems like it belongs ot the people on Wall Street, those are the only ones who can afford to buy a ticket anyway. Third, I continue to lose respect for several Yankee players day by day. If I see their names in one more headline I may completely devote myself to the Mets.. I'm already halfway there.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Citi Field. I still have a hard time calling it Citi Field and not Shea. I also think it should be called City Field seeing how it was our tax dollars that bailed out Citi Group who could not afford the field to begin with. I digress... Citi Field, to put is simply, is spectacular and the perfect stadium for anyone who loves baseball. A few things to mention:

1. The stadium is laid out in a way that you really do not need a permanent seat. The entire main level is open, which means you can stand anywhere in the back and still see the field. It is so awesome that they designed it this way. They have standing tables and poles that hold drinks so that you do not need to sit down. You can watch the game from the back while enjoying a drink with friends. I was thoroughly impressed with this detail. I am voting that they create a "roaming ticket" where you can buy a ticket that allows you to just roam around the stadium and stand at different sections without ever needed an assigned seat. I just love this!

2. The variety of food and beer there is insane and yet not over the top. As you may know, they have a shake shack there as well as several first class restaurants (hello! you can have a nice dinner and watch the game while sitting in a restaurant in center field!) Of course, if I am at a game, the only thing I want are hot dogs, pretzels and beer - standard baseball food. However, it is awesome that there is so much variety. They even have my favorite beer, Star, which I have only had in London. Can you tell I am going back next week?

3. Each seat is equiped with a cup holder. We no longer need to worry about having someone spilling our drink when they go past us in the row. Brilliant!

4. The only thing I found somewhat cheesy was that they had a sports shop for "female fans" where the gear was "designed" by Alyssa Milano. Like, what? I just had to laugh. I didn't know she even designed clothes! So the whole idea of clothes for us women was quickly ruined by having the store called "Touch by Alyssa Milano." Um, no.

5. One of my favorite things about going to baseball (besides the atmosphere, the game, the food, the drinks, the friends, and a kickass stadium) is the wave! OMG. I love the wave. We pulled off a spectacular wave that went around the stadium nearly five times without losing steam. It was glorious, I have to say. That is the best word to describe it. If this is a taste of what Mets fans are like, I am quickly investing in them by the hour.

6. The game itself was a lot of fun, of course. They play the Pittsburgh Pirates and it was no match, even though it was 0-2 Pirates for the first few innings. The Mets came back to win it 8-2. In the words of a Mets fan, "LET'S GO M

Is it me or...

2009-04-29T21:03:00.002-04:00

Is it me or are more people using canes these days to walk? I'm not talking senior citizens here - I'm talking about the younger generation who seem to be using canes without a reason. Are walking canes in or did I miss something?

Is it me or do guys not care about picking or "scratching" their nose in public places, like at work or on the street. I have seen more guys than I would like to count scratching the inside of their noses - sometimes while even talking to me. I'm whaaaat. It's not a full on dig, that would be gross, but their fingers are definitely scratching the inner part of their nose. Seriously. What is up with that?

Is it me or are women becoming very active in athletics. It seems like so many more women and girls are joining teams and participating in sports than they were ten years ago. We have women in college who are doing ice hockey and crew and younger girls who are doing little league and football. Take Mackenzie Brown - a twelve year old girl who pitched a perfect little game (striking out the last six batters in a row). Did I mention she was the only girl on her team and the opposing team? Pretty awesome.

Is it me or have we lost the will to fight? We always thank those who fought in combat and, more or less, thank those who fight off the stereotypical battle field like the street or avenue. Let's not forget that Dr. King, RFK and many others fought a lot of battles without firing weapons.

Is it me or is this entire country going crazy over swine flu? I was fine with at first, but now some school kids have gone and brought it up to NYC and we are stuck worrying that every breath we take is going to get us infected. I will tell you one thing, I draw the line at wearing a mask. I don't mind washing my hands more or taking a few extra vitamins, but I'm not going to let this go to my head.

Shaking My Head

2009-04-08T19:56:00.003-04:00

MTA
I'm shaking my head at the MTA... shaking my head and inserting some swear words in my sentences when talking about them. How is it they can say in the same breath they are raising fares and cutting services. It's like one plus one does not equal two. I've seen enough of The Wire and 24 to smell out corruption. For chrissake, there was a fare hike only a few years ago and I've seen no improvements since then - the trains do not run on time, especially during rush hour, I have not seen any new trains added to any lines, 30% of the buses are outdated and considered harmful, you can't hear a word the conductors say and it seems like crime has increased at the stations. And you have the audacity to say you are going to raise my monthly metro card to $103. I'm not paying that to get to work. Hellllllll no. Between biking and walking, I'm covered.

If I had it in me, I would organize a citywide strike against these hikes -- we still have a month and half before the bill actually passes. I don't need to ask, who is with me. I already know the answer to that.

Michelle Obama
I'm shaking my head at the press who only seem to care about what Michelle Obama is wearing. Can we please get over this? The woman has a brain and has been doing some pretty cool things since being first lady. Maybe someone in the press can take notice... It's pretty sexist to only keep mentioning her fashion and nothing else. There, I said it!

Facebook
I'm shaking my head at their new layout. Stop changing your layout! I can't take it anymore. I never know what I'm going to be signing in to. It's like a surprise party every time I log in, and I don't look for that in a website. It was fine as it was. I don't need to have ten thousands feeds of what my friends are doing. If I really need to know what everyone and all of their friends are doing, I'll go to their profile.

And another thing, anyone who has over 300 friends, we know you don't have 300 friends.* It's just insane. There has to be standards. If I haven't had contact with you in the last five years, I'm not accepting your friend request. I don't need to feel good about my popularity via facebook. God, I'm not even friends with anyone at my own office in order to keep a low profile (although I think it depends what company you work for). Standards, people. Standards.
*Of course, this doesn't apply to up and coming stars like Greg Stees, Aldous Davidson or April Smith.

Gossip Girl
I'm shaking my head at the story lines to this show, but I'll continue with my guilty pleasure nonetheless. I mean, I watch for the awful story lines but when the same people keep breaking up and getting back together again, it just gets old. Just stay together... for me. I just want Nate and Vanessa to be together. And Chuck and Blair. Dan and Serena... well they have just done the cycle too much that I want them to move on. All I ask, at this point, is that Blair and Chuck get together. That's it.

Mets v. Yankees
I'm shaking my head at the new stadiums. I'm shaking my head because the Yankees did not need a new stadium at all. They are so republican. I'm shaking my head at the new Mets Stadium, not because they don't deserve - they do, but because it's called Citi Field. It should be called Taxpapers Field. Regardless, I will be making the rounds to both stadiums this season and checking out the new digs, respectively.

What Happens in Palm Beach...

2009-03-29T21:34:00.005-04:00

I've been meaning to blog since I got back to Palm Beach. In all honesty, I meant to blog while I was in Palm Beach, but I decide to endulge in as little technology as possible. When you are on an island far, far away (known as Singer Island, the sister island to Palm Beach), all you want to do is chill. That is not to say we were inactive.

The first day we were there, we decided to rent bikes and bike around Palm Beach, in hopes of getting some birds' eye views of the rich and famous' digs. Unfortunately, as we started to bike around the island, all the super huge mansions had super huge hedges hiding the house. It was so sad... to only see views of glamorous roofs... but a girl can dream. These mansions were definitely owned by the like of Donald Trump, Richard Branson (although that's inaccurate since he owns his own ISLAND), and the Kennedy Compoud. What would a trip to Palm Beach be without seeing the infamous Kennedy Compoud, which is indeed a compound. Like, whoa. We were qucikly put in our places when we bike down a one way road and got told off by some kids driving a freakin' '89 honda. I'm confident they did not live there either.

We went out to dinner with my Aunt Louisa, who is actually my great aunt, but I see as more of a second grandma. As mentioned in a previous post, her husband, my uncle Francis, had recently passed away. Despite this major upset, she still managed to go to West Palm Beach for the winter. And that takes courage. So of course we were going to see her.

We decided it would be best if Seth drove the three of us to the restaurant and that's when things got entertaining, at least for me, who was in the backseat. My Aunt Louisa, bless her heart, was telling Seth he was driving too fast, as she was giving directions. Mind you, he was going 35 on a 50 mph street. I honestly thought we'd get into an accident because he was going so slow, but my Aunt Louisa insisted that he "slow down." Oh god, I had to hold back my laughter from the backseat. Seth was a good sport, though and managed to get us to the restaurant and back without a bump.

The real treat was when we went back to her house after dinner. We spent the next two hours listening to her tell these wonderful stories of her childhood, which were mainly centered around my great-grandfather, her father. He was quite an amazing man, having built - by hand - several prominant buildings in our town. There is even a plaque dedicated to him inside a prominent church he built. For someone who lost her grandparents at such a young age, it meant a lot to me to hear about my family history. I even know exactly where my family originated from in Italy! Does it get better than that?

Not to bore you with any more stories about Florida, but I will mentioned we got dressed to the nines and went to the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach. This hotel is like NY's Plaza Hotel, but on the ocean and spread out. It's more like a resort than anything, but feels like it belongs in New England. I loved it. We got gin and tonics and walked around the premises. There we were - dressed up - walking around the property when we came across a hidden basketball court complete with several basketballs. Need I say more? What seemed like a simple night, was what we call the "simple pleasures in life." Basketball, gin and tonics and walks under the stars. I'm ready to go back to island...

COMING UP: The MTA Strikes Back, Gossip Girl a Go-Go, and Why We Need Warm Weather Now!

Awesomeness. Almost.

2009-03-20T01:15:00.003-04:00

My pets,

I will write a decent post soon. I have been so caught up in work and life and everything in between that I have simply not had a chance to write a proper post. Proper? Yes. Proper. Clearly, I'm becoming somewhat British in my writing lingo... but not in my native accent.

In the upcoming post, due out in the next few days, you will read about flying high in Palm Beach - the island, not grandparents land -, the party at Greenhouse I recently attended, everyone's favorite guilty pleasure known as Gossip Girl and more on why Facebook really needs to stop changing their layout.

As always, I'm looking for NEW topics to blog about, so if you have a suggestion, leave it in the comments section. You can even do it secretly like 007. So, chime in!

xoxo,

Ready, Set, Go!

2009-02-27T18:12:00.002-05:00

Two girls walk into a nail salon...
If there is only one thing I endulge in per week, it is getting my nails done at SpaOlogy on 14th and 2nd. They are the best in the business and only charge $10.50 to get your nails done. My nails look good nearly a week after I get them done, which is rare and they give great, free back massages while getting your nails done. It is a five star rating they get in customer service. So why do annoying girls have to come in ruin the experience as if they are the only two souls in there?

I was in SpaOlogy last night and I had to sit next two girls around my age talking at a loud level about their pathetic personal lives. I don't use the word "pathetic" lightly. I cannot fathom why this girl was talking about her love life, or lack there of, in such a public place where myself, another customer and all the workers wanted to roll our eyes at everything she said. "And I mean he didn't even apologize to me and IM and texting doesn't count." Her friend was even worse, being quite the jealous type in every remark she gave. "Well it sounds to me like you still really like him. You need to get over that." Girl, please. You were just talking about how some guy just dropped you and you are still talking to his lame ass self. It was so awful it wasn't even good. Some times you get juicy random gossip and some times you just hear blah blah blah in places like this.

The best part was - just to show their stupidity - was how one of the girls insisted she get the fast drying polish on her nails nearly ten minutes after they had finished. Like, hello! Your nails are already dry. But she insisted and paid the extra money. What a dimwit. Seriously. I think I lost brain cells on this trip to the nail salon.

Sunnyside Up
It's a buyer's market that's for sure. I now officially have a friend, Barry, who is offically a homeowner in NYC. He has recently purchased a one bedroom apartment in the lovely neighborhood of Sunnyside, about 20 minutes (if that) from the city. And, as luck would have it, I have actually been to Sunnyside before, albeit, twice, but from what I remember, it was cute. I can't say this will entice me to visit, as I only make appearances in Queens to visit the Water Taxi Beach or the Astoria Beer Garden, but I'm pretty sure I can make an appearance at a real housewarming party and not a rentingapartmentwarming party. I have to say I'm envious of him, having a stake in NYC realestate, even if it isn't on my island of Manhattan. Bottoms up or should I say Sunnyside Up!

O Captain, My Captain
And in a section that will revive some brain cells, I wanted to touch upon the photo ban lifted on the dead arriving home from Iraq and Afghanistan. It's about time. For so long and from what I read, auhtorities felt it was unpatriotic for the media to be able to take photos of the coffins returning home. I think its unpatriotic to NOT take photos. These people died for us and the least we can do is acknowledge that. Well, low and behold, now that the ban has been lifted, people are coming out of the woodworks saying how this honorable it is to take these photos. As we all know, being the activist I am, especially having done Number The Dead, I think there is so much more we can and should be doing to honor these men and women who sacrificed their lives for us.

The Oscars (or how Hugh stole the show!)

2009-02-23T22:38:00.003-05:00

The Oscars, for me, is more of a time to see who has talent and who does not, which is purely based on their appearance at the Oscars. For example, Hugh Jackman I would hire hands down. That opening musical number was very well excuted. You can tell the Hugh gives it his all - regardless of the role. This guy has talent. Plus I nearly died laughing when he introduced the comback of musicals. Oh man. He gave Whoopie Goldberg a run for her money when she hosted the Oscars in 1996. Well done, Hugh. Well done.

The most wonderful moment of the night occured when Kate asked for her dad to whistle so that she could find him. Wow, what a whistle he gave. I nearly cried. I thought that was ingenius. How exciting it must be to have your parents witness that event in person. Good thing my dad won a whistling contest back when he was a kid; I'm good to go.

I voted for Milk to win best picture because I thought it was the best picture of the year. Yes, I voted with my heart and not my head. Slumdog was a close second in my book, though. At least Milk got recognition in the original screenplay category and best actor category. (I also picked Sean Penn to win for Milk. He deserved it.)

Really, the Oscar should go to James Franco and Seth Rogan who put on quite the show in their "Pineapple Express" bit. It was exactly what the audience needed.

Can some also send me Anne Hathaway's dress in a size 4, please. For me, it was love at first sight... sigh, le dress.

As for the most awkward moment of the night... ABC just could not resist showing Brad and Angelina while Jen was on stage. We were wondering if they would sink so low and they did. I mean, there was no one else in the theater they could have cut to? Really. Just awkward all around. Can we let this triangle go already?

And who do Angelina and Brad think they are? They can't even stop for a five seconds to speak with Tim Gunn. Get over yourselves.

Obsession

2009-02-17T19:50:00.002-05:00

I looked up the definition of obsession and it didn't read like I thought it would, especially since it included the word "disturbing." I would not call my latest obsessions disturbing; in fact, they have improved my life by 5%.

My first obsession is with "The Wire." This show has come and gone on HBO, but lucky for us we have the entire series, all five seasons, on DVD. It truly is well done - from the characters to the story to the filming. It's about as addictive as 24, I would say. I also love how it gives a realistic and unbiased view into the social economic factors of a metropolitan city, Baltimore, specifically the drug and crime scene.

The saying goes to not judge a book by it's cover and that holds true for the worlds that revolve in Baltimore as well as other cities in the US. "The Wire" provides a great insight into these worlds we are not apart of (and yet we are by living in NYC). I highly recommend watching this show on DVD. You'll thank me later.

My second obsession could not come soon enough. I absolutely love Guitar Hero. We got the full band - two guitars, the drums and a mic. I was never a fan of video games (except Mario Brothers III and tetris) but Guitar Hero simply rocks my world, pun intended. I love how everyone up to four people can take part in the fun. Plus the songs are great to jam out to. What a great concept! Why didn't I think of this sooner?!

I have to say though, while I give the impression I am obsessed with Guitar Hero I actually only play it once or twice a week. I just felt compelled to rave about my new toy. Rock on!

Wrestling with Issues

2009-02-16T18:43:00.004-05:00

ISSUE #1: A Word From the Wise to the Unwise
I love how John "bi-partisan" McCain told the press that he feels Obama is off to a bad beginning. Thanks for the encouragement, John. Let's be honest - regardless of who was in the White House, there were going to be issues with this stimulus plan. I'm sick of this bi-partisan BS. No one knows the answer. This bill is either going to work or its not and there is only one way to find out, by passing it. So John, please, stop trying to divide. We don't need that kind of attitude during this economic times.

ISSUE #2: The Wrestler
Well, another upper here. What's up with Hollywood making all these films so depressing? No wonder everyone is cheering on Slumdog. I have to say, I think my favorite part of this film (besides the theme song) is the title. While Randy "The Ram" is a wrestler, he is also wrestling with a lot of issues in the movie. I'm surprised there hasn't been a film before now that is called "The Wrestler." Mickey Rourke played the part well, but I don't think it'll win him the Oscar. I still think Sean Penn and Leo DiCaprio (who's not even nominated!) deserve the gold statue for best performance.

AN ISSUE IN ITSELF: In other news, who can believe Mickey Rourke used to look like this:

ISSUE #3: It Has Come To My Attention...
I think it's time I do a little PR for my blog. Apparently some of my closest friends did not even know I had a blog. While I have had this blog for over three and half years, I haven't done any promoting of it since I started it. It would be nice to get more readers and thus more comments (and a big thanks to those of you who have commented). We shall see.

ISSUE #4: FNL
Speaking of PR, I'm going to do a little more promotion of one of the best shows on television: Friday Night Lights. I swear, if I am ever in the elevator with Jeff Zucker I'm totally gonna tell him he needs to save Friday Night Lights. Forget my career. I just want you to save FNL. What will I do without Riggins, Street, Matt, Lila, Buddy, Coach Taylor, Mrs. Taylor, Judy and Matt's grandma?! God, if I was marketing that show, all I would do is have huge posters that look like trading cards of all the main characters. I mean, how could you turn your TV off to this:

Oh Tim Riggins.

ISSUE #5: Sick, sick, sick
I'm home sick with some sort of virus and it's not fun. I slept for four hours straight today. I didn't even get to enjoy one of those days where you get to lounge on the couch and watch movies cause I slept... for four hours. I had to like pull myself out of bed because I thought if I spelt anymore I may not sleep tonight. Ugh, not fun. I don't like having weird viruses that I can't really self diagnose. I just want to feel better.

Roses are Red

2009-02-14T21:38:00.000-05:00

Live From West Virginia, It's Saturday Night!

2009-02-10T00:31:00.003-05:00

I spent the weekend in West Virginia on last minute business. While I admit that West Virginia was not on my list of have-to-go places, I was pleasantly surprised.

Cheese Wiz!
I had some of the best cheese sticks (aka mozzarella sticks to us Northerners) of my life. I'm sure it was only because they were deep fried in front of me and probably made up of thousands of calories. If there is a reason to go back to WV, it would be these cheese sticks.

The Hills Are Alive With the Sound Music
Forget hills! These are mountains in West Virginia. They were unbelievable. We had to drive through them to get to Virginia. There is no easy way to get around these mountains except drive up and down them on some of the curviest paths I've ever seen. Forget Disney World, just go on a drive in the mountains of West Virginia.

Red, White and Blue
West Virginia is known to be a very red state and it is. But they are not ashamed of who they are. I'm not saying I share the same views as them, but at least they have a sense of self and stand by that. God bless America.

The Story of Francois

2009-02-04T21:43:00.003-05:00

The other night, I asked Seth to tell me a story before bed. I am not sure what compelled me to ask him this. Perhaps I thought it would help me fall asleep, as it did when I was a child and my mom would tell me stories from her childhood. Perhaps I thought it would be another insightful nugget into Seth's life. Perhaps I just like being told a story as much as I like telling them myself. Regardless of the reason, Seth complied and began.

"Once upon a time, when I was in my early twenties and traveling Argentina, I took a small plane to the southern most point of the country. This is the last stop before the South Pole. I got off the plane and met a girl..." And I think to myself, what kind of story is this?! You meet a girl?! This is not the story I wanted to hear... He goes on to say that he bonded with this girl and they ended up staying in the same hostel, in the same room. Ok, timeout. Same room?! Now I'm really like, what kind of story is this? This is not the bedtime tale I was looking for. Seth clarifies, without any prodding on my part, that this girl was strictly a friend he had met on the road. And that hostels have huge rooms where ten people stay in the same room.

While at the hostel, in one of these rooms that hold ten people, he met a guy (finally!) name Francois from the South of France. I know of Francois, as he and Seth are still friends today. Together, and without the girl, they hitchhiked throughout Argentina for two weeks, going form one small village to the next. Seth goes into detail about some of their adventures with interesting characters and so on and so forth. At this point, I'm really enjoying the story. It is always fun hearing about other people's travels.

Seth concludes his story with, "And that's how I met Francois." A good ending with an awkward beginning, but a great story overall. I will definitely ask for more story-telling in the future. Beware, Seth. Beware.

A Little of This, A Little of That...

2009-01-30T00:20:00.004-05:00

The Reader
If you thought Revolutionary Road was depressing, you haven’t seen anything yet. Kate Winslet managed to play the two most depressing roles this year. Well done. Also well done are her performances. I have to say that I think she did a better job in Revolutionary Road. The film itself feels as long as if someone was reading the story to you. Overall, this is not my favorite movie of the year.

Yahoo! Yaboo.
I think I have to change my homepage to something other than yahoo. Every time I go on the internet, Yahoo has a big headline about how many jobs are being lost or how job security is bleak. It’s not something you want to be reminded of, you know? Especially since I read these headlines while at work.

Has anyone seen this photo?!

YOU MUST GO HERE TO GET THE FULL EFFECT:
http://www.gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=15374

It is so awesome. It’s one photo made out of 200 photos taken at the same spot at the inaugaration. You can zoom in to each photo to see where everyone was for that moment – it’s kinda like a Google earth image but clearer. You just need to see it.

Wired
I haven't been blogging as much because I have been addicted to "The Wire." It really is as good as everyone says. I'm so glad we have the entire series to watch. Not sure what I am going to do when we finish it.

Imagine.

2009-01-20T23:57:00.007-05:00

Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do.

Nothing to kill or die for. And no religion too.

Imagine all the people, living life in peace. You.

You may say I' m a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.

I hope some day you join us.

And the world will be as one...

-----------------------------------------------------

Well it continues into today and tomorrow and tomorrow... I invite you right now to just imagine, for there is a new dawn upon us.

Sleep Well Tonight, Kids. I Am.

2009-01-19T22:09:00.008-05:00

Tonight I am going to bed with a feeling as if Santa was coming tomorrow and I was five years old again.

I got ready for bed and as I drew the shade in the bedroom, I felt something I hadn't felt before. It was as if my lungs could be filled with more air and that a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

As I drew the shade tonight, in a single moment, I felt like tonight I can sleep a little easier knowing that tomorrow Barack Obama would be president.

On the eve of the most important inauguration of my lifetime and on the day that honors the dreams of MLK, Jr., tomorrow I wake up more inspired, more hopeful because that's what the idea of President Obama invokes in me. I too have a dream.

Since tomorrow looks like it will be a a very Lincoln-esque day, I leave you with a quote said in Chicago by the man himself, Abraham Lincoln:

I leave you, hoping that the lamp of liberty will burn in your bosoms until there shall no longer be a doubt that all men and women are created free and equal.

-- July 10, 1858 Speech at Chicago, Illinois

Sleep well.

Miracle on the Hudson

2009-01-19T22:00:00.002-05:00

Wow. Why am I always in the dark when things happen like this? I was editing and decided to take a break only to see on the news that a plane had just landed in the Hudson 12 minutes earlier. OMG. Of course, I get back to my desk, turn my TV on and start to read all the major news sites. It really was just too unbelievable that I had to read every article I came across - all the who's, what's, where's, when's and how's of the US Airways flight went down.

First off, who woulda thought Canadian geese would ever enter the picture of this scenario, but they were the cause. Second, who woulda thought the Hudson? Of all the places to land, I never imagined the Hudson as a runway. Third, this just goes to show you that flying really is safer then you think. Imagine if a car was going over a cliff into a lake... the car would not be as lucky as the plane. And finally and most importantly, the captain, Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was just the right guy, at the right time, at the right place to handle such an accomplishment. Well done. Well done.

It's been four days and I'm still stunned... a miracle indeed.

Connecting US

2009-01-08T22:04:00.003-05:00

STORY OF THE WEEK
Did anyone see the story on the 5 and 6 year olds who wanted to go to South African to elope? A 5 year old girl and a 6 year old boy from Germany decided they were absolute in love with each other and wanted to get married. Their plan was to take a train from their hometown to the airport and then fly to South Africa to get married because they like the beach. They came prepared too – they asked the girl’s 7 year old sister to come as a witness. I’m not sure if I’m doing the story it’s adorable justice, so check it out here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/05/german-children-elope-mika-annabel

MILK
If there is one movie to see this year, it’s Milk. Everything about it is worth seeing – the acting, the true story, the events, the style of it – is worth seeing. God bless people like Harvey Milk and those who stood with him. It really is a loss when people like him are gone too soon.

IN OTHER MOVIE NEWS…
We saw Revolutionary Road and Slumdog Millionaire. They are both completely different movies, but completely worth seeing (once you have seen Milk).

It does not take long to figure out that the director of Revolutionary Road also did American Beauty, mainly because the music is similar. Beyond that, I think Leonardo DiCaprio gives one of his best performances ever. Kate Winslet is also great, but Leo steals the show. When you see it, count the number of times the characters look in mirrors/reflections. The theme of “reflection” is a little overdone, but that’s the film student in me talking. It’s depressing, but it’s a story worth seeing.

On the other side of the spectrum is Slumdog Millionaire, a film that leaves you feeling a little less depressed about life. It’s really well told story and a very refreshing film. Don’t be deceived; it’s a very serious movie.

THE READER, THE WRITER
I’ve noticed no one comments on my blog anywhere. Not one. Single. Comment. It would be nice have some comments from my few readers. You can even leave your comments anonymously or with fun names. I ask, I beg, just leave a comment once in a while!

The Vacation I Need From The Vacation I Kinda Had...

2009-01-06T22:41:00.005-05:00

Man o man, what a party I had... I finally have realized how great it is to have a birthday on December 19. Why is that date so wonderful? Because it kicks off three weeks of partying -- first, the birthday. It's not just a time for celebrating my birth, but the holidays as well. Everyone wants to party. Everyone is in a festive mood. My mom always told me it was a good time to have a birthday and I finally believe her. Yes, ma, you were right! And then, after my birthday, is another party, Christmas Eve, where 30+ friends and family come by our house to celebrate. And after Christmas, comes the final party, New Year's Eve. It's literally three weeks of parties, fun and many, many good times. What could be better? Absolutely nothing.

This time around was extremely rewarding, starting with turning 27. After 18 days of non-stop work, Seth surprised me with a trip to NY's Spa Castle, which is located, in all places, Flushing, Queens. This place is a hidden gem. You would never know where you were and I can't say enough good things about it so I'll just give you this link to fill in the blanle.com. This was followed by parties at the Brooklyn Brewery with my friends and then at home in CT on Christmas Eve with family and friends followed an awesome game-nite at Vern's and to top off the end of the year, we had a last-minute new years eve party held at our apartment, with a guest appearance by Hasan, who flew in from LA. Like I said, it doesn't get better than that. It really doesn't.

Broolyn Brewery

New Year's Eve

Here's to 2009! Wahooo!

BREAKING NEWS!

2008-12-29T23:29:00.001-05:00

Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter, Brisol Palin, just gave birth to a son. While I would have loved his name to Barack, she went with the ever-so not-popular Tripp - with two p's, not one. Still amusing just the same...

The Year of Living Dangerously

2008-12-29T19:35:00.005-05:00

27: My Opus
i have felt like i have been 27 for the last few months, so turning 27 hasn't had the same shock as one would expect...for me. the only thing i wish i did before the age of 27 is make my opus. yes, my opus (aka producing a heavy-hitter story, be film or tv). laugh at it, if you want, but it means the world to me. and i want to accomplish this sooner rather than later. life is short, after all.

27: The Year of Living Dangerously
i suppose that not making my opus by 27 has its pros. when i look back at all i have learned in just the last few months, i have discovered that i needed these last few months to learn what i need to learn to make my opus. i mean, you are always learning. maybe 27 is the year where i have what i need to do my opus. maybe. maybe this will be the year i start to live dangerous and leap over those bounds and hurdles to get to that point where i finally make my opus.

SNOWED IN: Part 1
no one will understand why i love the album "snowed in" so much and that's ok. that's what makes it so special. every year, i look forward to listening to this album.. specifically "silent night medley. " i said it before and i'll say it again, this album means a lot to me. a lot. i'll always love it.

SNOWED IN: Part 2
wow, so talk about "the weather outside is frightful..." the day of my birthday it was the worst-case imaginable weather -- snow, then freezing rain, then sleet, then snow. yikes. but the festivities continued and people still made it out to the brooklyn brewery for probably one of my best birthdays ever. and, by the end of the night, it was snowing again. i love snow.

SNOWED IN: Part 3
when it's snowing, an old friend always comes to mind because when we would hang out, it would always snow. strange, but true and delightful. on the topic of delightful, what's better than snow? snow angels of course! one per year is one quota reached.

A FINAL FAREWELL
I was a great-niece of Francis Oneglia. It seems strange to mourn someone so far removed, but for me, Uncle Francis was just that - an uncle. He meant a lot to me. He really did. He was an great inspiration, a top-notch story-teller and a never-ending giver to those around him. He reminded me of one of my favorite childhood books, "The Giving Tree." Because that's who he was. he didn't have to take me out to the "club house" when i visited palm peach. he didn't have to get me an autographed ball by alllll the yankees in 1998 (world series champions) and he certainly didn't have to spend time telling me wild tales of him and my grandfather. he didn't have to and yet he did. i'll really miss uncle francis. http://www.laportacookfuneralhome.com/Default.jsp?page=obituaries&companyid=a0002&personid=a0002_877

*this blog is dedicated to Francis Onelgia, my favorite storyteller. he made me laugh, showed me dedication and also believed in me. this world is a better place because of him.

Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)

2008-12-17T22:28:00.005-05:00

A Word to the Wise
It's great to see parents teaching their children to be polite, respectful and all the other wonderful qualities to being a great citizen. But there is no need to teach your child how to go down stairs at a very crowded, very chaotic office building that attracts millions of tourists a year. Do us all a favor - pick your two year old up and carry them down the stairs. Not only does that keep the traffic on the stairways moving, but it also keeps your kid out of harms way. I also can get my lunch faster and therefore have more time to be effective in my office.

Na-Na-Na Hey-Hey Goodbye
If George Bush thinks that by him saying there can be "no debate" over the fact his policies has kept American safe since 9-11 will keep him from being the worst president in history, he can think again. Yes, we are fortunate there has not been another attack and that is due to number of people and policies, right down to the average NYC citizen who has "seen something and said something." But lets not forget what George Bush HAS given us the last 8 years: the worst finanical meltdown since the 1920s, an unjustied 6-year war in Iraq with no end in sight, 4,209 American soldiers and thousands of innocent Iraqis dead at the cost of over a trillion dollars as oppose to the original estimate of $100 million, Osama bin Forgotten, the Abu Ghraib scandal, thousands of Americans for dead or stranded during Hurricane Katrina days after the fact (and that still has unresolved issues), the leak of CIA covert officer Valerie Plame, the cover-up and then un-covered story of Cheney accidentily shooting someone, the alienation of all our allies ie the entire world, the largest mortagage crisis this country has ever seen, our social security on the brink of crumbling and much more that I don't even want to remember so I pushed it to the far back of my brain because I just want to forget these 8 years and move on. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Extreme Weather
I was recently in Milwaukee for work and it was freezing there. No. Really. It was 6 degrees and that's not with the wind chill. It was just 6 degrees. I had to shoot exteriors of buildings, which meant I was outside for a few minutes at a time. It was brutal. The only 6 degrees of separation I got was when our car reached 90 degrees and I could feel my legs again. In times like this, I always think that if I was on the titanic and I was Leo DiCaprio in the water, I'd be dead. I can't handle extreme weather.

The same goes for extreme heat. When I was in Palm Springs for another shoot over the summer, it was 115 degrees - and that wasn't even the high. When you walk into the Starbucks there, you get sprayed by mist and when you leave the Starbucks you get sprayed again. It's automatic -- it's not even a choice, that's how hot is really is there. Our first night there, I suffered from heat stroke. I'm not exaggerating. I almost threw up and passed out until my colleague noticed I looked like a ghost. Yeah, so extreme weather is not for me.

I'm So Happy!!!
It's nearly the eve of my 27th birthday and I'm just so happy at this point in my life. Everything is always changing, always in flux and right now, at this moment in time, I don't think I could be any happier. I just feel complete. My career, my personal life, the city - I just feel complete.

It's a different feeling. When I look back at my earlier memories - middle school, college, london, post-college - there are so many good times with great people that I loved and during those times, I was very happy. But it was a time of being carefree, so how could I not be happy? But now I have responsiblities -- an apartment, a job (my dream job), a boyfriend that I live with, a future...I guess I feel, for the first time in my adult life, like I've grown up and that feeling of happiness I had when I was younger, that I thought might disappear as I became an adult, is still with me. And I'm shocked. And I'm happy, very, very happy.

To sum it up, in the best way I know how (besides visually), is through music:
There are places I'll remember, all my life though some have changed. Some forever not for better, some have gone and some remain. All these places have their moments, with lovers and friends I still can recall. Some are dead and some are living...in my life, I've loved them all.

Keepin' It Real

2008-12-12T02:21:00.001-05:00

THANK YOU, AMERICA
Well thank god and thank you fellow citizens. I’m thrilled you have finally got your act together to chose Obama as our next president. You can feel the country breathing a sigh of relief these days. Yes, the economy sucks and is getting worse by the day, but ya know what we DO have that we did not have a few months ago: HOPE. And I stand by that. I have hope so much hope for this administration, this country and for every American.

My greatest fear is that Obama does not live up to the president we expect him to be. We are on the brink of huge change where this country will either go one way or the other. He’s not JFK, he’s RFK. He has promised so much and so many of us believe he can accomplish what he has set out to do. So while I’m breathing a sigh of relief, I’m holding my breath. I’m still young and if Obama lets me down, lets US down, then what happens to another future candidate that promises the next best thing? We’ll be filled with doubt. And that won’t be good.

But I like to believe the best is yet to come. I like to believe that the night is darkest before dawn and a new day is open us and it starts under President Obama’s leadership.

TATTOO
On that same note of “believe” and believing that we will turn the corner, I think I may turn a corner in my own book by finally getting that tattoo of the word “believe.” I have wanted it for five years and think it’s time to get one. I have an idea of where I want to get it and I “believe” the time is right.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS
In the morning, the last thing I want to do is be bothered… by anyone or anything. I like to think of it as “getting centered” before my day begins. Of course, every so often, I do run into a dilemma on my morning commute: express or local.

So I’m sitting on the local train and the express train is across the platform, with its doors open. I’m 100% positive the express train is going to 49th street, a local stop, but I don’t know which train will leave first – the local or the express. So I gamble, take a risk and pick a train. And then it happens. I’m on the wrong train that leaves last and then the conductor says, as the train across the platform leaves, “This train will depart after that train.” Well, thanks for telling me that now. If you told me that 5 seconds ago, my life would have been a lot less complicated. So now I have to wait longer to get to work and I hate being late. That’s the ultimate worse.

AND SOMETHING JUST PAINFUL
On the train home for Thanksgiving, I notice this girl a row ahead of me trying to untangle her headphones. We all know what a pain this can be, but these were not just ordinary headphones. These are really nice headphones our audio people use on shoots to make sure the audio, of course, is crystal clear. So this girl has those headphones. And she’s trying to untangle them and it’s just painful for me to see this cause she’s pull the chord and stretching the chord and these are really, really nice headphones. In a word: ruining. She is ruining these headphones and it’s an awful sight to see.

But the awful sight to see gets worse when I noticed that she is not a she. She is a he. I’m not talking transgender here. His hair was long and he was young and I just assumed he was a she and then I start thinking like maybe he has become a she because he has a slight chest and looks feminine. I don’t know… maybe I’ve worked on one to many transgender shows. Whatever the case, I’m not bothered by it’s sex. I’m just too consumed about the state of these headphones which he/she did not end up untangling. Painful.

THE COMEBACK KID
Ok, not my best post, but at least I’m writing. I need to do more of that. I’ve had a lot of ideas and what would be even better is if I put those ideas on paper ie a post. Rome was not built in a day and comebacks take time. So give me time and I’ll give you something good to read.

I'm Baaaaack!

2008-12-03T21:49:00.003-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year. I'm about to travel for business, which means I will have a lot more time to catch up on blogging. Yes, I admit, I have let this blog go to only one post a month... but I am ready to revive it and keep up on thinking big. I have several great things I want to share with you in my new "comeback" post. Hey, if Britney can pull a comeback. so can I!

Upcomoing Topics (but not limited to):
Obama
Obama Win
Obama Inaugeration
Obama, Michelle
Obama Cabinet
Obama Policy
Obama's Hope
Obama's Change
Obama's VP, Joe Biden
Travel
Subways
Hot Dogs
Do I know you?
Games
Life and then some
Death (this, and the line above, make a poem)
My Passion
Facebook
Headphones
Anthropologie
30 Rock
Big ideas
DMV
Christmas Tree
The future of this country
and much, much more.

VICTORY! (The dawn of a new generation....)

2008-11-05T20:46:00.004-05:00

Yes, we can.

Yes, we did.

I am so proud to be an American, President Obama.

Two Notes: One High, One Low

2008-10-02T23:12:00.004-04:00

McCAN'T Change------------------------
I love how everyone is in an outrage over this 700 billion. Glad to know that you are actually paying attention, for once, to how your taxes are being spent. I mean, you must wonder where 1/3 of your paycheck goes every week... well guess what, here's one example. But I would encourage all Americans to think about how they want their money spent AND how they are compensated in return for it (ie tax cuts). A lot of people don't seem to get it. Not just John McCain. They hear "no tax cuts" and then they panic. Well, let me lay it out like this: either you start from the ground up or from the top down, in other words, you start from the poorest people and move up the ladder (Obama) or start with the billionaires (McCain) and move down the ladder. You decide what you think looks better for you and go from there. I believe in the working class and move up the ladder, because, well, I am one of the working class. Ah, the working class, something that was not mentioned once by John McCain. Fact check it. You'll find he never said the phrase "working class" once during last nite's debate. Sad, but TRUE. Thanks, John, for recognizing me, the little person. I don't own a car (or a house), but I am an American nonetheless.

The Pain Game-------------------------

Take the "l" out of Palin and all you have is pain, pain, pain.

And, of course, The High Note:------------
The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

Coming Out Swingin'

2008-09-04T13:01:00.002-04:00

My, oh my, a lot has happened. From Michael Phelps at the Olympics to Obama at the DNC. And now, Gov. Palin comes into the spotlight. These are exciting times.

SARAH PLAIN: A Woman of NOT MY Time

I never thought I would be disappointed over the chance of a woman as vice president (or president). But I am.

To begin, I will start with women and the workforce. “What exactly does a VP do?” I don’t know much, but I know that it will take time away from being a mom. With five children, I question the amount of time she will be in their lives for the next four years if elected president. Up until my mid-twenties, I always dreamed big – for me, at twelve years old, I wanted nothing less than the new Spielberg of my generation. As my career develops, it is clear that I cannot be “Spielberg” and play a huge presence in my child’s life. Twelve hour days as a big-time executive does not include breaks for sports’ games or homework helping. It is not a coin toss, but sometimes it feels like it. And so I wonder, does Sarah Palin feel like it is the same for her, with five children, including a newborn?

I feel this question has been answered. For someone who has a 17 year old daughter that is pregnant, I wonder how much of a presence she plays in her children’s lives to begin with. The sex talk is awkward for both child and parent. Luckily, I never approached my mom about that subject. Instead, she approached me. Well into my teens, it was clear I knew where babies came from. But did I know what it meant to have sex? Did I really know the full consequences of having sex and how important it was that I was ready to go through with such a commitment? No. That’s what moms are for. She knew it was her job – her loyalty, from mother to daughter - to talk with me. That’s the kind of relationship we have. And then there is Sarah Palin. Her daughter is 17 and pregnant, She is unmarried (what does her God say about that?) and has yet to graduate from high school. She is not even old enough to vote, let alone drink and yet is about to give birth to a child. My mother would never let this happen to me. I wonder about the communication between Sarah Palin and her own daughter. What does that say about her?

Plenty. To accept the nomination with five children in toe, including a teenage daughter who is five months pregnant, is enough to judge Sarah Palin’s character as second in command of this country. I’m against many of her stances – pro-life, pro-gun, pro-John McCain, but that aside, I’m against her character. Do I even bring up the investigation about the firing of her brother-in-law? Politics are dirty, but to abandon your family of six (soon to be seven) for the white house and neglect the fact your teenage daughter is having sex, unprotected at that, is a sign of neglect. And so I ask, how can this woman take charge of a country when she is not around to take charge of her own family? You tell me.

The Olympics: We Will Rock You!

2008-08-17T22:47:00.006-04:00

The Olympics have really moved me this time. From swimming and gymnastics to track & field and diving, I’ve always loved the summer Olympics. With each Summer Olympics, I seem to become more captivated – hard to believe since I don’t remember any Summer Olympic I wasn’t captivated by. I can’t remember when I saw my first Olympics. I started watching most of the Summer Olympics back in 1996 and witnessed live the “vault heard round the world” with the US gymnastics team. But this time, I’m really into it.

And how could you not be? It started off with the most amazing race ever. Did you hear us cheering and screaming from our apartment, cause I'm sure half of NYC did. Nothing could make it more sweeter than having the French arrogantly exclaim, “We’re gonna smash the Americans!” right before the race. You never bate on an American, as Seth aptly put it. Spoken well for a guy born and raised in the UK. But it was true. HA!

Onto another swimming note, how much did we all love Michael Phelps’ mom? She just seemed great. His sisters nearly cried every time he won a medal. I think they were as shocked and stunned as we were. I mean, my god, this guy is a wonder in the water.

A “omigod!” moment that does not include Michael Phelps is the girl on the US gymnastics team who fell twice, once off the balance beam, the other on the floor routine. She cost them their gold medal. Then there’s those Chinese gymnasts who claim they are over 16, the age you have to be to participate. This is based on a passport issued by China. I’m very suspicious… and if you saw these girls, you would be too.

It's eleven at night and you know where to find me. I'm watching the Olympics, Week Two. Track and field, baby!

Circle of Friends

2008-07-31T00:57:00.003-04:00

The Big Dip
Never underestimate swimming at night during the summer. Even though it gets cooler in CT during the evening, our pool manages to stay relatively warm. Of course, I didn't realize this prior to our big dip. Abbie wasn't joking when she we were gonna do the "tropicana twister" that night, which translates into a highly creative and "ohhh and awww" jump into the pool that we created back when we were nine years old. We did, though. All but Vern - "Come on! You HAVE to come in. Everyone else is..." who didn't succumb to peer pressure. It was quite invigurating. After we got all the jumps out, we figured we really would relive our childhood by playing marco polo. I forgot how much I used to enjoy night swimming, especially with old friends.

Let The Sunshine In! (or Things I will do again this Summer)

2008-07-14T22:57:00.005-04:00

Summer Bliss in the Least Likely Place
There I was - lying on concrete and a towel and thinking, "this is the life" becuase I was sitting at a pool in NYC where I could swim outside. It was crowded and the staff run a tight ship (only towels, flip-flops and sunglasses allowed in the pool area). But it was also 100 degrees and I just needed to be in water outside. As an only option, I highly recommend it during heat wave weather. Plus, it's free!

Dandy Warhol
P.S. 1. No, thats what it's called, for anyone that got lost or confused. It's the MoMA in Queens and on Saturday afternoon it's one big party. Artwork and booze, what can be better than that? I have to say, it was a great place to connect with friends and people watch. You have the most eclectic crowd there: hipsters from Williamsburg, parents and kids from Park Slope, 20-somethings from the village and the rest of random people from Manhattan and other boroughs. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and will definitely go again this summer. PS - there's also music!

The Dark Knight Returns!
Like OMFG. I don't want to spoil anything, but I totally didn't see that coin-flippin character to come full circle in this film. Everyone was spectacular. (Aw, Heath.) The effects were spectacular. Waiting to get into the movie, not so spectacular. We arrived an hour early only to wait in a already long line with the air conditioner on low. Luckily the AC was on full blast in the theater and we ended up with the seats we wanted. I degress... the film was spectacular, in case I have not stressed that enough. Like the public pools and PS 1, I definitely will be seeing The Dark Knight again. This time in IMAX.

Cooking with Annie
Fried green tomatoes are absolutely wonderful and quite simple to make. They only require five incredients. That's it! And they are a breeze to make and divine to eat. It certainly is a summer food, so go out and get the goods. I will be making this dish again before the summer is over. Martha Stewart, watch out. After living a year with Seth (yes, we have surpassed the one year mark), I've become quite the homemaker while still being a filmmaker. Life is goof.

Independence Weekend (or LET IT RAIN!)

2008-07-09T14:12:00.005-04:00

Cold, cold water bring me round / Now my feet won't touch the ground /Cold, cold water what ya say?/ When it's such? / It's such a perfect day / It's such a perfect day
I remember / We were walking up to strawberry swing / I can't wait until the morning / Wouldn't wanna change a thing
People moving all the time / Inside a perfectly straight line / Don't you wanna curve away? / When it's such? /It's such a perfect day / It's such a perfect day
Now the sky could be blue / I don't mind / Without you it's a waste of time
- "Strawberry Swing" by Coldplay

THESE lyrics really encapulates our weekend - a weekend of independence from the city. As Courtney put it so simply, "It was exactly what we all needed." After taking last summer off, I decided I HAD to have my annual July 4th party. Although two years doesn't seem like a long time, so much has happened between then and now. A lot of transitions and changes have occurred that have shaped us into what we are now in - our mid twenties, a stark difference from when we just graduated and were trying to land with two feet on the ground. Now, we have landed and it's time for us all to connect again, which is exactly what we did. Maria put it quite well, "It was really nice to get away with old friends, meet some new ones, and laugh pretty much 2 days straight."

We were 14 in total from NYC: me, Seth, Hasan (who flew in from LA, no less - Hasan, we are expecting a helicopter landing in my backyard for next year's festivities), Courtney, Rhiannon, Aldous, Greg, Paul, Ben, Gen, BJ, Michelle, Maria and Zaida with NYU as the connecting thread. In addition, I had my old -school ttown crew that included Jen, Abbie and Vern, etc. in attendance for the BBQ, which put us at 20 people altogether. Two cars, one train, two tents, a keg plus some miller lights hundreds of hot dogs... you can imagine what happened. Fun!

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS:
---Playing kickball in torrential downpour. And by downpour I mean I was ready to get goggles because there was so much rain.
--- "Oh, we are doing tequila shots." "That's when the real party begins."
---Club Mountain Road wirh Maria's insane laughter and Greg's dance moves.
---How it went from being 10:30p to 2:30a within a matter of minutes.
---The pool floats and floaties
---"Have some more carrot cake." "Ha, get it, some more. Have smores. Smores!"
---Hasan's fodor, which made it's way around to several heads at the party
-- 20 people actually playing taboo
---Taking at dip at 3am
---Pancakes!
---Learning to never underestimate how much people love blowing bubbles.
---Bob Marley blasting.
---Regret not taking a "team photo" for our kickball game.
---There seemed to be a period of twenty minutes where everyone was into the sparklers.
---And I'll never forget Hasan's bathing suit.

Robots, Waterfalls and Flip-Cup

2008-07-03T12:49:00.002-04:00

Band (Names) on the Run
What is up with bands' names these days? Performing at Bowery Ballroom in the upcoming months are Harry and the Potters and, get ready for this one, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. That can't possible be a name for a band, but it is. My question to them is, is your music as dumb as your band's name? Cause that sounds pretty dumb, which leads me to believe they are dumb.

To Ban or Not To Ban
Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 for the right to hold arms. In so many words, they believe it is our constitutional right to own handguns in the name of our safety. Isn't that a catch 22? If someone has a handgun, that means they can use the handgun on me and threaten my safety. If you take handguns out of the picture, that is one less way to harm someone. It makes absolutely no sense that someone should be able to own a gun in the name of their safety. If you want safety at home, subscribe to a security system. I'm sure statistics would show that people who own handguns are more likely to get killed as a result of that gun than if they never had one to begin with. Hunting rifles, on the other hand, is a completely seperate story, as they are used for hunting. If you are asking for my opinion, I think ownership of any gun should be illegal. If the London police do not need them, why should we?

The Art of Flip Cup
The art of flip cup - oh there is an art form to that, alright. I learned that last night after our final kickball game, which is also 100% fun to play. With war paint on, it was our kickball team, Team America, versus the maroon team, whatever there name is. The first time, I failed to flip the cup in time, but nearly every go after that I got it within one or two tries. Even though our team was covered in war paint, which is not the easiest thing to get off at the end of the night, it was all fun in games. Of course, you always have that one guy that takes it too seriously. He like crushed his cup when we lost. Seriously. I'm like, maybe you should have more to drink cause you need to chill out. Or maybe you should have less to drink cause you need to chill out. So, the point I'm trying to make - it's about calmness and soft hands. That's the art of flip cup. I am a huge fan of both flip cup and kickball and hope everyone has to parttake in either game at some point in their adult life.

Wall E
Go see this film.

Don't Go Chasin' Waterfalls
Don't go see this. Who needs to see the east river fall? The only one that looks interesting is the one under the Brooklyn Bridge. Other than that, it's just dirty water falling.

All in the Family: Father Knows Best

2008-06-15T22:52:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite parts of "American Beauty" is at the end of the film when Kevin Spacey's character recalls five moments that encapsulates his life. Of all the days, I remembered this on Father's Day. It got me thinking about my own father and that handful of memories that stand out.

1. childhood - All the coaching, but specifically batting practice in our old backyard on Pineridge. I think my mom thought every time I was going to take out the kitchen window (I didn't).

2. Sophomore year of high school - He bought me Hanson's "Snowed In" album. He was really under the weather the day it came out, but he managed to do this one thing for me because he knew it would send me over the moon. And it did, not only because I loved Hanson but because I knew what he went through to get it. To this day I still listen to that album during the holiday season.

3. Sometime when I was 6, 7, 8... - Driving in the land cruiser to one of his softball games while blasting Jimmy Buffet. "I like mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french fry potatoes..." He always claimed that this year would be his last year on the team. It never was, though and I was happy for that.

4. 7th grade outside the public library - I asked him I f he really thought I could make it as a film director. He said if I worked hard enough at it, then "definitely." Just what a child who "thinks big" needed - support.

5. March 2000 - It became very clear ot me the kind of person my father was when he read the eulogy he wrote for my grandmother's, his mother's funeral. It was well-written, but the specific words and passages he chose to describe her, to say good-bye to her - I have never been more in awe of my father.

My father is a powerful force that, to the outside world (everyone except my mom and I), seems to go unnoticed. "Speak softly, but carry a big stick." He is smarter than any person I've ever met. His humor sneaks up on you. It is so subtle it almost guarantees a laugh. He keeps his cool, which is more than many of us can do. He has an open mind and loves my mother and I unconditionally, always has, always will. Plus, he loves listening to great music. For all this and more, I feel really privileged to be a part of his life.

All in the Family

2008-06-09T21:21:00.003-04:00

JAZZ CARROLL
September 1, 1992 – June 9, 2008
"The best pet in the world."

Today was the end of an era. My beloved black cat of 15 years, Jazz Bones Carroll, was put to sleep due to a cancerous tumor. She went out as we all hope to: with pride and dignity.

The Beginning
I remember the day very clearly when we first met Jazz. On February 14, 1993, my valentine’s day gift from my parents was a “black kitten” who needed to be picked up at a local vet’s office. It was decided on the way there that her named would be Jasmine, “Jazz” for short. (It was later changed to simply Jazz after the movie “Aladdin came out with a main character called “Jasmine.”) I remember Jazz not liking the car ride. That was something that always stayed with her. After a few days of checking out her new surroundings, she made it her home and became part of the family.

The Middle
She wasn’t a good cat – she was a great cat. I should know. From pool side to study side, this cat accompanied nearly my every move I made at my parents;’ house up until I left for college. Everything you hoped to have in a pet, she embodied. Jazz loved to be in your presence without all the neediness some cats demand. She even made cat lovers out of dog lovers. Jazz enjoyed to “chill” with you and that’s what made her a great companion.

The End of Another Beginning
I was not looking forward to this day and really hoped it didn’t come as soon as it did. But it’s now here and I need to grieve and move on. I will truly miss Jazz. It will take some time adjusting to her not being in my life. But, as they always say, “remember the good times.” And I will because there are so many of them (as some past posts have noted). Good old Jazz! Always there when you needed her.

I Promise

2008-06-08T22:40:00.002-04:00

I promise to write a post soon.

I promise the post will include, but not limited to: traveling, NYU, cotton, pub crawls, movies, walking, Democrats and the subway.

I promise they will be filled with fun, facts, reflections, rules and good writing.

I promise you will love it. Or not.

A Little Old, A Little New

2008-05-01T20:57:00.001-04:00

Location, Location, Location.
Isn't that what it always comes down to? My apartment is great because of its location. I'm so glad they opened up a Top Shop down the street because of its location. And my new job is that much cooler because of location, location, location. Obviously, being inside this historic building is something in itself. That's all I can say about that.

As for the outside location, one would think it would be buzzing with tourists, which it is, but there are plenty of places to sit and eat lunch. It's always the best place to star watch. I've seen a handful of celebs go by and now I'm considering doing my own "map of the stars." Isn't it time the east coast has its own guide?

Speaking of stars, I just happened to come across the apartment building that Serena van der Woodson lives in aka the fictional character from the deliciously deceptive guilty pleasure that is known as "Gossip Girl." Yes, I fell prey to this show during the writers strike when nothing new was on TV and now I'm ridiculously hooked.

Another perk (or downfall) is that 5th Avenue is right around the corner. All the stores I love and oodle over are right in front of me. Literally. I sit at my desk and look out the window at temptation. Guess whose family is getting an upgrade in Christmas presents this year?

Justice Has (NOT) Been Served
I'm sick over the verdict in the Sean Bell case. The case was over before it began, so I'm not surprised that three officers got off for firing 50 rounds of bullets at three young, black people who were unarmed. In the end, one of the boys, Sean Bell, 23, was killed. This also happened to be on the morning of his wedding day. The other two were wounded. The cops' defenese was the overused "we thought they had guns" defense. This was not the case and it certainly didn't warrant 50 bullets being fired at them. One woman outside the courtroom said it well, "Fifty shots is murder. I don't care what you say. That's what it is."

T.G.I Friday Night Lights
I guess all my e-mails and letters paid off. They are keeping Friday Night Lights on for a third season, starting in 2009. Who has two thumbs and is excited? This girl! It really is the best news of the week.

Take Notice
Seth doesn't realize it, but I moved our bed over a good 5 inches. I sleep on the side of the bed that is closer to the wall, so moving the bed over 5 inches, really makes a difference. Not that I had to squeeze by, between the wall and the bed, but now I can comfortably get out of bed, stretch and walk to the door. Of course, this also means a longer jump for Jazz from the window to the bed, which means I need to put a stool between the bed and window, which means I would have to climb over this stool after getting out of bed, which means moving the bed over 5 inches was virtually worthless.

Vay-cay!

2008-04-19T19:02:00.002-04:00

Island in the Sun
Finally, I went on a vacation without a single worry in the world. I had just finished my first job out of college and had some time before I began my new one. The song that kept popping up in my head was Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ On the Dock of the Bay.” It felt really good.

Old Boys Network
We went to Singer Island, which is a small island next to Palm Beach. It is like a little slice of paradise. Located right on the beach, the condo we stayed in has a pool (how could they not). On a few occasions Seth and I opted for the pool where we were greeted by a network of old guys (think Sopranos) making cocktails. Technically, you are not allowed to bring in any food or drinks into the pool area, but that didn’t stop these guys. It took less than five seconds before they offered us a variety of cocktails. Bottoms up. Coincidentally, we noticed that this was their ritual. They came to the pool every day from 1-4p to make cocktails, tell stories and live the good life.

Yipee Ky Yo
We went kayaking! A state park exists a few miles down on Singer Island that offers a plethora of activities, including kayaking. Seth and I rented a kayak and rowed all around the inlet, which had a lot of little islands you can dock at. It was quite a workout, but totally worth it. I felt like we were in “Lost.” We ended up on this small beach on a desolate island. Quite romantic… Of course, rowing back against the tide after two hours of rowing was not as romantic.

SUV
Of course, Swifty rental cars was less than swift when they ran out of the small economy car we had reserved. Instead, our choices were limited to a Dodge caravan (soccer mom styl) or a Dodge big-ass durango SUV. We opted for the SUV. Sadly, I have to report that our SUV fit right in in Florida. The amount of SUVs there outnumbered the other cars. I do not know why Floridians feel the need to have such cars, but then again, I do not know why they do a lot of things, like vote for Bush in 2000.

At Last...

2008-04-13T21:52:00.004-04:00

So Long, Farewell
I ended my four-year tenure at my first job on April 2. Having learned and developed my skills as a producer, I am very thankful to have my first job as this company. I am leaving with three reels – reels! – because I actually have produced, shot and edited pieces that can go in a reel. For a first job, I highly doubt I would have had this kind of hands-on experience at any other company. I also believe this is what landed me my new job. So I am very appreciative of the opportunity I had at this production company. I am now moving on to a position at a very well known company. It is a huge step in the right direction, in terms of my career. What was a dream ten years ago is now a reality. How about that?!

Into The Wild
I saw “Into the Wild” the other day. This is a Sean Penn film based on a true story starring Emile Hirsch (Lords of Dogtown, Dangerous Lives of the Alter Boys, etc.). I can’t stop thinking about it. It was absolutely beautifully shot and the story itself was rather intriguing. This boy, early twenties, gives up all that he has, and by all, I mean everything. No money, no relationships, nothing. It is about the here and now and that’s it. He travels up the west coast and eventually ends up in Alaska. I won’t give away anything else.

The only problem I had with this boy, who clearly had some mental issues, is that he totally abandons his family. They do not know he is gone until two months later, when his parents attempt to visit him in Georgia only to discover he his gone. He put a two-month stop on his mail, so all the letters they sent him were not received and of course, he didn’t own a phone. He ends up ditching his car and changing his name, so that he can’t even be found. His parents and sister did not warrant this treatment and I thought it was the cruelest action a person can do. So while his life seems admirable, his character left a bad taste in my mouth.

Jon and Kate Plus 8
One thing I love about Jet Blue is there in-flight entertainment. On the way to Florida, I got hooked on a show on TLC called “Jon and Kate Plus 8.” It’s a reality show that follows a couple who have twin daughters that are 6 years old and sextuplets (three boys, three girls) who are 3 years old. The parents are as real as they come and it’s amazing how they deal with so many children without any help at all. And the parents’ relationship is spot on. The little fights they get into, its just so genuine. I am absolutely hooked. It’s a great reality show without any exploitation. I actually think this is the only reality show I would love to work on. That’s how good it is.

BOO!!!!!/YEAH!!!!!

2008-03-27T00:39:00.002-04:00

Disgusting. Disgraceful. Disappointed.

The three D’s is all that is left to describe Eliot Spitzer. I had such high hopes for him, back when he was Attorney General. Hell, I though it was a privilege to even see him speak at an event in Manhattan back in 2006. That’s when I took the photo featured above. And now I have lost all respect for him – on many levels.

I don’t think I have ever been this let down by a Democratic politician before. Bill Clinton had his affair in the White House, but I’ve never met Bill and I wasn’t old enough to vote for him. I followed Eliot Spiter’s career the last few years. That has come to an end.

Going. Going. Gone.

As careers end, another one begins. Mine. I got a new job. Finally. I’m super excited to move on and move up. My first job definitely gave me the opportunities and experiences that I never would never had at a high profile company. Now I have what I need to continue to flourish in my field.

This is a weak post. But I promise a new, more fulfilling post soon, once I get a chance to blog. Soon, I will be on a remote island where my only concern will be what drink shall I order next. Ahhh, the good life.

More To Come

2008-02-20T23:38:00.004-05:00

Post Secret
If you want to see my creative juices at work, you can check out my new blog, The Reel Deal. You can find the link in my profile page. Do not expect much from this blog except my new reels and updated resume. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Inspiration
I’m watching Garden State right now, followed by Romeo and Juliet. I can’t divulge the short screenplay I am about to write and hopefully produce, but these films offer the inspiration and guidance I need. That’s your clue. Good luck, Sherlock.

New Yorkers Recycle
They sure do or that’s the impression I got while watching the Giants’ parade down the Canyon of Heroes on Broadway. I have never seen so much paper in my life. And I got it all on film. People were dumping – and I choose that word specifically – dumping full sheets of paper, paper shreds, strips of paper, lines of toilet paper all out the window. To say it was insane, is an understatement. You couldn’t see the ground once the parade was over.

I had the best seat in the house, looking right at Broadway. Of course, we couldn’t let this once in a lifetime opportunity slip past us. So we made a film in conjunction of the parade. You can find it on You Tube under “Giant Sickness.”

Countdown
I am always being asked who I am for when it comes to the Democratic presidential candidacy. My answer: I think both candidates can make great presidents. I just want someone who can get in the white house. I only hope we do not have to wait until the summer to find out who it’s gonna be. We need to start the rally now.

Since I've Been Gone
Since I last blogged, Lost has started, I formed a make-shift pub crawl a few weeks ago, hosted a mini Super Bowl Party, attended a very fun party that was themed “Miami Vice” that featured one of the funniest shorts I’ve ever seen (props to my friends, who are creative geniuses. Glad to be amongst them), saw Aldous’ first performance as a hip-hop star, and the writers strike is over!!!

The Return of the Writers
Amen. Now I have to pray that Friday Night Lights returns. That is the best show on TV, besides Lost, of course.

In The News

2008-01-29T22:41:00.000-05:00

No-Win Situation
I was stunned to hear about Brad Renfro two weeks ago. As a check that this death did not only shock me, I asked a few friends how they felt. They too were equally taken aback that this promising star had died. It’s not surprising he died young, given his addiction to hardcore drugs and run-ins with the law, including doing 8 days in prison. It’s surprising we lost someone filled with a lot of talent. This actor could have had his choice of roles had he only continued to be a serious artist. Looks like he loved one thing more than the other….

Then, Heath Ledger. I’m still in shock. I can’t believe he died. Maybe I’m in so much disbelief because I had great hopes for him and had grown attached to him the last two years. He fell under the category – which few do – where I would see any movie he is in because I know it will be good. After Brokeback, he really solidified his talent as an actor. In I’m Not There, the only that was there in that movie was Heath and Christian Bale. Ironically, they are both in the next Batman movie and for anyone who’s seen the trailer, as the Joker, Health looks nothing short of kickass. So sad. I really will miss him.

World’s Most Dramatic Chipmunk
I think I have an affliction for animals on this blog. First it was the obese cat from Japan featured in the Feburary 2006 post, I believe. I have since moved on from the cat to this… world’s most dramatic chipmunk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw

Kan-yeah!
Love his new album. At first, I got nervous. I liked “Stronger,” but that’s traditional Kanye and of course, everyone’s gonna move to that song. But then I heard some other tunes from Graduation that were not as good as those on his previous record. But then he came back with those beats that makes me love Kanye. Two tracks that really stand out for me are “Champion” and “Homecoming (featuring Chris Martin, yes, the front man of Coldplay). What can I say? I’m still a fan of Kanye.

The 60's Reunite
Oh, if only Dr. King and JFK were alive today. They would see their love child, Obama. The “I have a dream for the new generation” politician is on his way to the White House. Or so we think. It’s too early to tell how this country will vote, let alone the Democrats. It is nice to see the Republican party also conflicted on who they should vote for. Guess Karl Rove is saving his energy for the big race. Now, about the Democratic “Karl Rove”…. If you are asking me who I am voting for on Super Tuesday, you will just have to wait for me to blog about it on Super Tuesday. But let me say that I too have a dream that involves change for a new generation.

On That Note…
As of today, 3,940 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq. That’s nearly 4,000 people. I just wanted to make you aware of that.

Good night, and good luck.

On My Lunch Hour

2008-01-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

It's amazing what one can accomplish in just one hour. Check out my video!

The Beginning

2008-01-19T11:55:00.000-05:00

Where was I?

Where was I when Jude Law and Cameron Diaz were walking arm in arm through Greenwich Village? Where was I when Paul Rudd was at Three of Cups Saturday night? And where was I when Philip Seymour Hoffman was at 2nd and 9th? I read all of these gawker stalker sightings and think, where was I? I live in this area. I should see a celebrity. The odds are in my favor and yet it never happens. Then I just remembered that I saw Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) this Saturday afternoon on 8th and Ave A.

Behind Closed Doors

Someone’s been using a lot of their money to fund a very covert study on whether he should run as president under the Independent ticket. Our very own mayor, Mike Bloomberg, has been conducting a study on whether he should run. If I was polled, I would say, he has my support as long as it doesn’t look like another Nader scenario, which is probably will in which case I will probably vote for Obama in order to keep another Republican moving into the White House. If that’s the case, we might as well just move out of the country now.

London

Standing at a NYE party, on top of a London rooftop, just outside of Convent Garden (our equivalent to Soho), I experienced my near Times-Square experience. The roof faced Trafalgar Square, The London Eye, Big Ben and the Thames, which is where all the hoopla happens: thousands of people cheering at the booming sound of Big Ben and $2.4 million in fireworks exploding over the river and out of the Eye. It was over-the-top: a perfect way to end one year and ring in the next.

Westminster Abbey: I see dead people.

One highlight of our trip, besides seeing Seth’s hometown Farnborough which is the British equivalent to T-Town, we went on a tour of Westminster Abbey. I had been inside before, but never on a guided tour. It was very interesting to learn about the history of the Abbey and all that has happened inside those walls: coronations, marriages, christenings, funerals, burials. Westminster has nearly 3000 people buried underneath it. You actually walk over a lot of famous tombstones such as Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Charles Dickens and a lot of royalty, including Kind Edward the Confessor, Mary Queen of Scots, Henry IV, Edward III and a lot more. Yes, I stood either six feet above these people or side by side. Crazy!

LDN Graffiti Artist

And our trip would not be complete if I failed to mention that I saw a real-life Banksy! Check it:

Back in the U.S.A

Now I'm back and have some pretty hefty goals on my plate for 2008. Nothing like starting the new year off with something I want to accomplish.

So Long, 2007

2007-12-31T07:47:00.000-05:00

Product (Red)
I think Seth and I single-handedly funded an African village for the next year. Whether it was for ourselves or the holiday season, we spent a good amount of money on Gap’s Product (Red) products. From coats to candles, we just couldn’t get enough (Red). If you are going to spend money, might as well have your dollar go as far as it can.

Belle of the Ball
It may come as a surprise, but Jazz was definitely the one getting all the compliments this past Christmas Eve. Sticking with tradition, we had a little over twenty people, family and friends at our house for Christmas Eve. Everywhere I turned, there was a comment about how thin the cat looks or how young. No one could get over the fact that she’s 15. I couldn’t get over the fact how many people took notice of her. I mean, she hasn’t lost a single pound in the last few years and she looks exactly the same as the year before.

Joy to the World
Ok, so who else was ecstatic when they read that Barron Hilton, Paris’s grandfather, is giving away 97% of his net worth to charity?! I’m sure the heiress – if we can still call her that – will still make out ok. But life would just be a little sweeter if she had to get a job.

Act Your Age
For the first time in five years, I decided to celebrate my birthday at a bar. Normally, I wouldn’t expect a great turnout for a Wednesday night, but I was pleasantly surprised. I think some of this was due to the fact that I picked a great venue – The Crocodile Lounge. My motto for the party was “Eat, Drink and Be Merry.” Eat because you get a free personal pizza with any drink. Drink because it’s a bar. And Be Merry because they have skeeball, duck hunt, wack-a-mole and a photo booth. You can’t go wrong. Needless to say, it was an enjoyable night and a good way to bring in 26.

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LONDON
I forgot how much I am in love with this city. At one point, this was my favorite city in the world, beating out NYC. That was during my study abroad period in London in 2003. It’s good to be back.

Cartwheels
It’s our second day here and we walked all around the city, starting at Hyde Park, walking down to Buckingham Palace, then to Westminster Abbey and Big Ben up to Trafalger Square over to Covent Garden and then to Leicester Square and finishing up at Picadilly Circus. I just wanted to do cartwheels all over the city; I fell into a state of complete bliss during this walk.

A Room with a View
We are staying in a hotel the first few nights, complete with an indoor pool. We also lucked out by getting a free upgrade to a room with a spectacular view of London. From our room, I can see the London Eye, Big Ben/Parliament, Hyde Park and nearly all of the city.

Green Light, Red Light
As Charles Dickens once wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The only downside to visiting London is that the dollar is incredibly weak over here. One British pound equals two American dollars these days. So basically I’m kissing half my money away on arrival. Things are not cheap. It was only bad luck that we strolled into a store on Oxford Street that had the most amazing sales ever. I don’t think I got three feet into the store without already picking up a pair of pants that I “definitely could not get in America.”

More to come in 2008... Until then, Think Big!

Last Thoughts of 25

2007-12-18T23:46:00.000-05:00

Me: On The Pool
I am looking at all the photos I have up on the wall next to our desk. At the bottom, a black and white of Seth and I, followed by a photo of my father and I from Cape Cod circa 1990. Jazz. On the couch she’s not suppose to be on. Mom and I when I was less than one years old. And my grandparents’ pool. Um, what? My grandparents’ 1960s pool? I’ve come to conclusion it stands for childhood. Some of the best times of my life were spent in that pool with my friends. I loved that pool, especially the diving board. Those pools… you can’t find those kinds anymore. Good times. Great times.

Me: On Van Morrison
You know who doesn’t get enough recognition? Van Morrison. I love about 90% of his songs and the other 10% I haven’t heard yet. He’s just so great and so not as recognized as he needs to be. He is on the same level as James Brown, The Kinks, Stevie Wonder and …

Me: On Goals
Here I am, on the eve of my 26th birthday. While New Year’s is the time to set resolutions, I find that on my birthday I set goals for that upcoming age. What do I want to accomplish? What do I want to do? Sometimes it’s not always clear.

Me: On Age
26. I feel like it’s closer to 25 than to 27. It’s a new dawn and a new day and I’m feelin’ good.

The Long and Short of It

2007-12-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

JUST DO IT (I did it!)
For November, I set forth a mission I wanted to accomplish. It has been a while since I have accomplished anything that I felt proud about and this one just laid itself out for me. My goal was to run the Turkey Trot in Goshen this year in Goshen, CT. It is a hilly 6.2 mile jog that happens the morning of Thanksgiving. And for some reason, I said "I'm gonna run in that race and finish it."

So I started to train. I went to the gym and started off with a three mile run. My goal was to increase my running by one mile a week. Mind you, I haven't been on one site or read one article about how to train for a race. I just set a goal I thought I could reach. Sometimes I ran three times a week. Sometimes I ran more. Sometimes I ran less. Nonetheless, I have some pretty random stories about my experiences at the gym. That's for another post....

Early on in my training, I let my parents know that I was going to do the Turkey Trot. I thought it was best to let a few people know I was running this race. This way I was held to it. I said I was going to do this and now I really need to show them that I'm going to do this. And by doing this, I will show mysel f that I can and will finish this race. (Please note I say finish the race, not run the entire thing. Not to say I didn't want to come in last, though.)

Then a great thing happened. My dad said he was going to run the race with me! I was very excited to hear this. Not only was it something we could do together, but I knew having him next to me would help me stay the course. Dad, you may have thought prior to the race that I would end up running ahead of you. But I always saw us finishing together and that's how it was going to be. And we did! Not only did we finish, but we ended up running the whole 6.2 miles - hills and everything!!! The cherry on top was that we even finished somewhere in the middle - around 267th and 268th! That means "not last!" I felt great.

The course, hilly as it was, was beautiful to run on. We went through the backroads of northwest CT. It was scenic, which definitely helpd the run. iPods were another key player. I relied on my iPod as if it was my only source of life. I'm not kidding. It was my heartbeat - literally. Gum was also helpful. We had a few fans along the way, cheering us on. Also, I found it somewhat ironic that at the top of every hill was another mile count. Within the first ten minutes, we hit our first major hill. My dad and I communicated through one look of fear. After we made it up, I thought I was going to half to walk eventually. But I just "ran it off." Once the course had looped, I knew we were going to be able to run the whole thing.

I kept my number as a reminder of that day. I even posted this not-flattering photo of myself, as proof that I really did run 6.2 miles. Now I am really in shape and want to stay that way. If all goes well, I will run it again next year. Until then, time to set another goal. Watch out.

THE NEXT BIG THING
One reason I haven't blogged lately is that I have been really busy at work. I am working on a new project that has been quite rewarding in creativitey and experience. I, along with three other co-workers, are producing a ton of short videoes for two websites aimed at children and teens. To be more specifically we have six concepts we have to produce for and under those 6 concepts will come 25 short videos each pertaining to that idea. Needless to say it is a huge job for the four of us, but we are doing really cool pieces I think you will be interested in watching. And you can, cause they will be online 24/7. I love the internet.

BYE, BYE JAZZ.
The cat went back to CT. It was absolutely wonderful to have her. So much so that we plan on getting back from January to May next year. I have to say, there is something nice in coming home to someone who is waiting for you - or sleeping in a cute way on the bed, couch or rug. I'll admit, I cried when my parents took her back home. I got really attached to her. I have had this cat for fifteen year of which thirteen years I saw her every day. I have to say, I think she felt the same way. Jazz loved being a city cat. Who wouldn't?!

The Post of Present

2007-11-26T13:15:00.000-05:00

I promise you that by midnight next week there will be a new post on this blog.

So many things to blog about, so little time...

Get pumped.

Hello/Good-bye

2007-10-26T14:47:00.000-04:00

CT and CAT
My parents were going to Florida for an extended period of time this month. It took little time for my mom to remind me of my family obligation to take care of our fifteen year old cat, Jazz, while they were gone. Seth and I jumped at the chance. Not only did we love Jazz, but we were eager to have a trial run with a cat. Who better to do a test-run with than Jazz?

We rented a car last weekend and went back to CT for the big event. Jazz had as much luggage as any person. Her litter box, litter, bag of food, her bowls for food, her two velvet pillows, her two fleece blankets, six toy mice, catnip and turkey treats nearly filled the trunk of the car. Thank god we rented a mid-size SUV.

For the trip back, Jazz required two pills: a relaxer and an anti-depressant. This cat hates the car. We were thrilled that she made the trip in flying colors – rarely crying at all. She was, after all, in a carry case complete with a blanket and food, in addition to being drugged.

We arrived at our apartment and let Jazz out of her case. She was timid at first, but within an hour, she was walking around like she owned the place. I knew how to make her feel at home – food. (see my post “How to deal with a Fat Cat” in archives, July 2005) She had plenty of comfort food to settle her nerves. After two days, Jazz really made herself at home. Stretching out, looking out the window, chilling on her blanket, and constant purring, this cat is in her element. And we love it.

It has now been a week and Jazz has made the transition with flying colors. She really feels like a part of our family. We look forward to seeing her after work as much as she looks forward to being with us. She loves to be where we are and its rather comforting having her right next to us. We all know how much I love this cat (and the same goes for Seth, who has taken Jazz in as his own cat). I’m not sure if I am going to give her up once my parents come back….

Good-bye Mr. Chips
Recently, I have lost two very important people in my life. The first one is my first boss, Carolyn Hailey, who died of melenoma last Friday. There are people throughout your life who make a difference. She was one of them. Carolyn hired me right out of college, despite the fact that she wanted to hire someone “right out of college.” She believed I would be a great PA and promised me that after a few months at the company, I would be able to use the camera. And now, here I am, producing my own pieces for air. I owe a lot to Carolyn. She brought me in to a company with amazing opportunities and because of her, I have developed my skills as a producer.

On a personal note, Carolyn was a great person. She never put herself first and she was more than a boss. She was a friend, a confidant and a mentor. I will miss her laugh, her determination and her thoughtfulness. And I will always remember her for all she has given me. I can’t believe she is gone.

The second person is my pediatrician, Dr. Curi, who also played on my dad’s softball team for years. I loved Dr. Curi. He was a great doctor. I never feared going to the doctor’s and there is a lot to be said in that statement, seeing how most kids dread the doctor’s office. And I will always be thankful for the fact that he saw me even when I was too old for a pediatrician, you know those few occasions when I was home for college sick with a sore throat. I also loved seeing him every week for my dad’s games when I was younger. No one else played first base like he did. Hell, a 60-something still playing ball like Joe DiMagio – you don’t see that these days. He will be greatly missed.

In addition to losing those two people, one of my co-workers recently had to put her dog to sleep, after learning he had cancer. And another co-worker’s mom passed away last week. There has been a lot of death surrounding the office, which is why I decided to bake an apple pie for work on Wednesday. If you’re gonna have a lot on your plate, might as well put some apple pie on it as well. A little pie, goes a long way.

Holiday in Spain

2007-10-05T17:34:00.000-04:00

I went to Barcelona for a wonderful, fully paid holiday last week, thanks to my boyfriend’s company and their yearly outing. Yes, they take their 80 employees and their partners on a trip for a long-weekend somewhere in Europe. So how could I not go? And I had the time of my life.

WEDNESDAY Night: The Plane and the Rudest French People Ever

I sat next to the rudest French people. Ever. No wonder why they have the reputation they do. First off, I arrive at my seat to find this slob of a guy sitting in it. I politely say, “That’s my seat” and his slob of a girlfriend aggressively responds in her French accent, “I know! We’re moving!” Um, don’t get mad at me. You shouldn’t have been sitting there to begin with. Whatever. I take my seat near the window. Here are some highlights from the rest of the trip:

1. When the girl sitting in front of the fat French guy tried to put her seat back, he held her seat up, so that she couldn’t put it back! Can you believe that?! She kept trying to put her seat back and he would hold it with two hands, making her think it was broken.
2. The gross French girl nearly tried groping her ugly boyfriend’s “package,” thinking I would not see her touch his little member – ya know, sitting right next to him – so I cleared my throat and moved around in my seat, making her aware that I was very much aware of her actions. She moved her hand away from his lower region. Ugh – I wanted to vomit.
3. For about 60% of the flight, the slob boyfriend kept trying to look out my window. He had no qualms about looking in my direction for half the flight, which is the most uncomfortable thing ever. You know exactly what I am talking about too. I shut our shades to avoid his greasy glare.
4. Since I was flying on Air France (never again), all the instructions were in French first, then English. Of course, the French part seemed a lot longer then when they would relay the same message in English. Seriously. The stewardess would talk in French for a good two minutes and then when she spoke the same thing in English, it was literally 3 sentences.
5. Just to reiterate how gross these two French people were next to me, when I went to transfer flights, they had to do the same thing. There was a looong line to transfer, but if you were going to Gate F, which I was, you got to go in this really short line, bypassing this longer line. So I did just that and these two slobs followed me and then proceeded to cut the other line once we got to the front. Clearly they were not going to Gate F. I couldn’t believe how low these two were. I was just glad to get away from them.

THURSDAY: !Hola!

Seth and I met in the airport around noon on Thursday. He flew in from London an hour earlier. We went to the hotel (a lovely 4 star one in the heart of the city) and took a nice siesta before setting out. We walked over to a popular area, La Rambla and had dinner. Walking through all the side streets to get there, Barcelona looked like I imagined it – something right out of a film. It had that European feel with it’s own twist.

Another great thing about Seth (if I can gush for a minute) is that he speaks Spanish fairly well, having spent nine months chillin in Argentina back in 2003. He ordered us dinner. We both got paella. I tried mine and felt it to be rather bland. Seth didn’t feel the same way about his, so I tried his dish and sure enough, someone forgot to include some ingredients in my paella. My first Spanish dish and it was far from caliente.

Later that night, we decided to stop in this little hole in the wall bar and randomly ran into two of his co-workers, who were in town a day early. Small world! Turns out, one of his co-workers had quit last week and was told NOT to come on this holiday. Not only did he still come, but he called into work sick his last day, which was the next day, Friday. A real character this one.

FRIDAY: All Around Town

I have to give ourselves kudos for getting up and seeing a lot of Barcelona on Friday. We figured out the metro, got to see the Sacred Family Church, which has taken over centuries to complete and is still under construction. The exterior of this church is the most artistic, creative exterior I have ever seen. It reminded me of something out of a Tim Burton movie or something that belongs in Pan’s Labyrinth.

Then we made our way to Gaudi’s house and his park via metro. A word about their metro – we need to model our metro after theirs. Clean, easy to use and quick to get around on. Anyway, we walked around his park and saw his house. It was a really cool experience because you get to see his artwork as well as amazing views of the city. It was such a lovely day.

We managed to grab some lunch outside this exquisite building with these amazing windows. I think I have a thing for really nice windows. After that, we rented bikes near our hotel and biked down to the port/beach. This was a great idea because Barcelona had bike lanes everywhere and it cut down our time tremendously when going down to the beach. We got to see most of the port and beaches of Barcelona. We really made our way around and it was so nice being on a bike in a new city.

After a nice siesta, we met up with some of Seth’s co-workers and grabbed a bite to eat. We ate with the locals at 10p, which is generally when people in Barcelona have dinner. At about 11:30 we finished and tried to track down the rest of Seth’s co-workers, which proved to be a huge mission. Apparently his friends had started drinking at 4p that day and were in no state to give us directions to where they were now – still drinking, of course.

Most of the conversations went like this “Blaikie, where are you?! Put someone on the phone who is not drunk.” “Hello?!?! Yeah, ask the bartender where you are.” “Flo?! Hello!??! Are you there? He hung up…” “Listen, is Chris there? Put him on. He’s generally more sober.” “This is Seth. No, not Jeff. Doesn’t matter. I work there. It’s Seth. I work in the NY branch!” “Hello?! Ok, you are at Zapatos?! Ok, we are on our way. Don’t go anywhere!”

By 1am, we had tracked down the gang – who were now sitting on the sidewalk, drunk as can be, having just been kicked out of the bar, which took us forever to find. They were on the ground and then they were up, trying to figure out how to get to a club. Instead of going to a club, they formed their own on the sidewalk – by doing these crazy dance movez and beatbox. It was absolutely crazy – 7 guys, 1 girl and us. Clearly, we had some catching up to do, so we left these crazy kids on the sidewalk while we went into the bar they were just kicked out of.

This bar had over 200 shots to choose from, all of which they light on fire. Like really light on fire. It was too cool. We did several shots and then went back outside 30 minutes later only to find that the gang had only made it ten feet away. Since his co-workers were in no state to carry on with drinking, we went our own way to a club we passed on the way to Zapatos. Seth and I stayed there til closing time and had a great time sipping on cocktails. That was at 3:30am.

SATURDAY: 24 Hour Party People

In order to get a good sense of the city, we went on a bus tour of Barcelona. This was nice because all we had to do was sit on a bus and take photos. At around 3p, Seth had to leave the bus and head to a 3-hour meeting with his co-workers at the hotel. Fun times! I, however, stayed on the bus and finished the tour. As luck would have it, the last stop on the bus was in front of Top Shop, my favorite European store. I was home. I walked around the area and after about three hours, I found my way back to the hotel. During this whole time by myself, I didn’t speak a word of Spanish in fear that they would detect far too easily that I was an American who couldn’t speak Spanish and then start to hate me the way they do our country. Sad, but true. Although someone did ask me for directions and I responded, “No se.”

At the hotel, I met Seth and we got ready for the reception in the hotel for his company – free drinks! I was feeling a little out of it – both jetlagged and nauseous when we arrived. It was only perfect timing for Seth’s boss to make a beeline for us the minute we walked in. Having to be on point for introductions was the last thing I wanted to do. I was so mad I was feeling this way and couldn’t understand why. Seth was like, let’s leave and get you something to eat quickly. We told his co-worker we were going next door and to come get us when they leave for dinner.

The cheese sandwich was just what I needed. We realized I hadn’t eaten anything all day and having been out drinking the night before, food was the answer. Once I finished, we went back to the hotel, where everyone was still gather. Seth wanted to get a cold tablet, so we went to the room to get one and by the time we came back down, everyone had left to go to dinner. We ran outside and could not see a single person from the company. How in the world could we possibly miss 80 people leaving within the 5 minutes we went up to the room – I don’t know.

Similarly to the night before, we were on a hunt to find out where dinner was being held. This was the big dinner of the trip, where the entire company had made arrangements for us. We called people. People were not answering. We didn’t have the name of the restaurant. Someone called back. We got the name. We needed directions. We were going to be so late. It was awful and entertaining the whole time. We started to make our way to the place and we were stopped due to a demonstration that was happening on the street we need go down. This was like a real protest – helicopters, swat team – everything. Why? WHY?!?! The one street we need to go down. We made a detour. We got lost. We asked for directions. We found the street. We went the wrong way. We went the right way. We found it. The hostess didn’t know where our group – of over 100 people – were seated. It took her five minutes before she realized our group was on the top floor of this lovely, very Spanish restaurant. We finally made it. And there were two spaces left at the table where Seth’s friends were seated. I was relieved we made it!

This company is crazy. Everyone is a lot of fun – even Seth’s big bosses. They were all drinking, having a good time. People were taking photos left and right. Someone broke one of the lights. I don’t know how. People were throwing food at each other. I swear to you. One guy even danced on a table! Like, wtf. This company knows how to let loose and I was glad to be a part of it.

After dinner, the entire company – nearly 80 people – made their way back to the shot bar we were at the night before. Can you imagine this entire group filling up the streets of Barcelona, all filling into this little shot bar? Even the head chiefs were doing shots, buying shots, sharing shots! It was crazy. When in Barcelona… Once we left this shot bar around 1am, is when the real fun began.

YOU MUST SEE THIS LINK: www.kubikbarcelona.com (click on fotos)

We went to THE – COOLEST – CLUB – EVER. Like ever. I can’t stop thinking about this club. It was call Kubik and it was located about ten minutes outside of Barcelona, down on the water – on this huge industrial pier where nothing is around except this club and the ocean. The club is all outdoors too. The photos do not do it justice.

ENTRANCE

THE CLUB

You enter through the pink part – once you walk through there, there is a bar to get drinks. Then, there are about 70 steps that lead down to the actual club – the green cub thus the name. The club is open and made up of huge light panels that go in and out. It was so f---ing cool. I felt like I was in an iPod commercial. Some highlights:
1. Seth’s co-worker Paul Blaikie aka Blaikie made a triumphant effort to try to get the five of us in via the VIP entrance. We waited in that line and he insisted he was on the list. Of course, they totally knew we were not and after a very good attempt, we were forced to wait in the other line. But, the good news, is that the other co-workers were already in line, so we didn’t have to go all the way to the end of it.
2. While waiting in line to get in, a car pulled up to drop off a ton of beer to the bar. While they were transporting it, a case of it fell and broke – but not all of it. These guys in front of us, went over and got a bunch of free beers. And as luck would have it, they ended up giving me one, since they had it leftover. This is with Seth standing with his arm around me – they just gave it to me! So nice. In return, I let them use this bottle opener I carried with me (and through two airport security systems no less). It was tit for tat and it worked out well for both parties.
3. The guy who quit and still came on the holiday was kicked out of the club for climbing the walls of the club, which were easy to do. Within three minutes he got back into the club, just by waiting in line. So much for security. Like I said, he was a character.
4. We waited in line for 10 minutes trying to get a drink. We finally got to the bar and I noticed the bartender had lost her bottle opener. And I had one on me. So I gave it to her to use – to keep. She helped fill our request immediately – six beers. She gave them to us for free. All that for a $3 bottle opener. I was glad to get rid of it, since I knew I’d be stopped with it on the way back through airport security. That bottle opener clearly came in handy that night.
5. I don’t even like techno music, but this club was so cool, I didn’t care. Dancing outside, drinking with lights going in and out, was one of the coolest experiences ever.
6. We left the club at 6:30am. We found a cab shortly thereafter. We arrived at the hotel at 7am, just in time for breakfast.

SUNDAY: Still Going Strong

At 7am, we had the complimentary free breakfast at the hotel. At 8am, we took showers and at 8:30am, we went to bed. At 9:30am, we woke up, after an hour of sleep. We packed, we went down to catch our cab and was at the airport by 11am. On the plane at noon and flying out of Barcelona by 1p. It had been the fastest 24 hours of my life and one of the best holidays I’ve ever been on. I did tear up as the plane took off. It was so nice to get away, to see Seth with his co-workers, to be part of that group, see Barcelona and experience Spain and it was nice that we got to experience all of this together. Only 360 days until next year’s company outing. Ready and waiting.

Yourself, Myself and Someone Else

2007-09-25T12:53:00.000-04:00

Think For Yourself
Sometimes I’m surprised that I am an only child because I like to think of others. For example, today I brought in and shared the last of my mom’s chocolate-chip pumpkin cake with my co-workers. Not only did I share it, but I thought of them when it came to the last of the cake. I just think it’s so nice when other people think of you, might as well be that person who thinks of others. Not that I do this all the time, of course. I am an only child.

Being By Yourself
I’ve grown rather accustomed to having my apartment to myself. The only thing missing is my cat. That’s probably because the place is so big and it would be nice if there was some movement in the room besides myself. When I am at my desk and I look over at the TV, I think how nice it would be to have a little cat companion snoozing on the couch.

Doing Things Yourself
So much to do, so little time. Why is it the day before you about to go on vacation ten thousand other things come up. I have to keep a schedule of my schedule today to make sure everything is done. I’m feeling very overwhelmed, which I guess is a sign that I truly need a break. Of course, I won’t feel like I am on a holiday until I am there, which requires me to make my flight, then make my connecting flight, get my luggage and get to the hotel. Until I am checked in, I do not think I will feel any less overwhelmed. And if I didn’t have so much going on tonite, I wouldn’t be worrying over all the things I am going to forget to pack.

Disappointed In Myself
I can’t believe I only have two posts for September. That’s pathetic. If there is one way to use the word “pathetic” it would be in this context. I need to get my act together for October. The problem is that I have all these ideas I want to blog about and then forget to do it. I need to write them down on a notepad and go from there. And before I forget, I saw “Across the Universe” over the weekend. This is the film with all the Beatles music in it. Music was good. Story was ok. But the experience itself was fun. However, the film runs a little long, so by the end, you really feel as if you've been across the universe...

Off at Hogwarts

2007-09-21T17:02:00.000-04:00

The Boy Who Lived
I finished Harry Potter. I read most of the final book within a week and then began to pace myself toward the end. Like other great works of art, I did not want it to end. I’ve fallen in love with the characters and their stories. Harry has come a long way. I used to find him somewhat wimpish for not standing up for himself when people would mock him. But with each book, he becomes more bold and defiant. After all, there is a reason the prophecy matched him with Voldermort. I’m going through so much withdrawal from this series that I want to start it all over again, just because I want the boy who lived to keep on living.

Just Like Voldermort
In my absence from writing, three significant people have resigned from the Bush Administration. Karl Rove (advisor) - Dunzo. Alberto Gonzales (attorney general) – Dunzo. Tony Snow (press secretary) – Dunzo. I can’t speak for the last two, but something is up when Rove leaves. He’s like Voldermort, though, he will never really be gone. He’s just peacin’ out from this administration to help the Republicans running in 2008. No matter how dumb some of them come across, everything in this administration happens for a reason.

One Small Step For Man
Last week was the sixth anniversary of 9-11. For those who read about it, many 9-11 families put up a stink about having this year’s anniversary ceremony a block away from Ground Zero due to construction. As someone who works a block from Ground Zero, I can tell you that the place where they had the ceremony was kitty-corner to Ground Zero. It wasn’t around the block or out of site. It just wasn’t AT the site. And it’s not like the families could not go down to the site after the ceremony. They could and they did. So I don’t know what all the fuss is about.

As these families must understand, rebuilding is part of the process. I didn’t lose anyone in 9-11, but I lost two important buildings that was a part of my Manhattan. It is time something fills that empty hole in all of us and if that means having the ceremony at the park 100 feet away for safety reasons, then that’s the way it has to be.

To Us
Seth and I celebrated our one year anniversary on Wednesday. I can’t believe it has been a year. I just love him. We went out to dinner at this lovely Italian restaurant, Il Cantinori, in the West Village. When we were being seated, I asked for this secluded two-top in the corner, explaining it was our anniversary. The host seated us there. Toward the end of our delicious and romantic dinner, the wait staff came over with a whole plate a deserts (complete with two candles in the tiramisu), two glasses of champagne with 2 berries in them and sang happy anniversary to us – all on the house! We were so grateful and appreciative of their services. It truly was a great way to celebrate the one year mark. And we are so going back there next year!

Light My Fire
I feel somewhat uninspired to write recently. I have urges of things I want to write about and then never do it. I assume it’s just a dry spell and I will move on from this. I do have things to say! And I do love to write! I think I just need some more material. I was looking through some older posts from 2005 and those were so much better than the things I’ve been writing lately. But I just remembered one other thing I wanted to say…

America’s Favorite Serial Killer
I love the show Dexter on Showtime. That’s what I’ve been doing lately – watching the first season of Dexter. At first, it took some time to get into this series, but now I’m completely hooked. After the first episode, you totally forget that the actor who plays Dexter was on Six Feet Under. He does such a g such a good job of being Dexter. Oh so good! You need to rent this show on DVD.

Closing Time

2007-08-31T16:56:00.000-04:00

Today was the official end of the lease to good old apartment 5G. Three years. It feels like forever ago when we first started moving in. And yet it feels like last week.

I remember the first time I went to 5G. It was not to view it, but to hang out with my favorite guitarist and friend, Jesse Selwyn. He kept saying, "that's a fake wall" and yet I didn't realize what he was talking about until we were about to take over the lease. Ah, yes, this is a one-bedroom apartment converted to two and that's the fake wall. And I didn't realize, on that first visit, that the couch he was sitting on, the one I immediately fell in love with, would soon be mine to lounge on (and continue to do so to this day). And I'll never forget how lucky we were when Jesse asked if we wanted to take over the lease and we said, "hell yeah!"

It's weird saying good-bye to this place. I'm not really sure how I feel. When I think of all that happened there, good times, bad times, ok times - you know, life - sadness and joy overwhelm me. So much has happened within these walls over the past three years. I got my first job, I lived in one room and then the other, I organized a demonstration, I had good friends come and good friends go, I had my first boyfriend, I had my second boyfriend, I fell in love, I watched John Kerry lose, I threw parties, I learned guitar and I even housed two fish for a period of time. They have a word for this and it's called bittersweet. That's exactly it.

But seeing this apartment in a way I had never seen it before - completely empty with the fake wall down and everything - almost seems like this is not even my apartment. That's good. It makes my last time in the here easier. So I stand there, hearing an echo in my every step and take one last, sweeping glance of the place, for old time's sake. One final time to take it all in, my first apartment. And like other times when life sends change my way, I say, on to bigger and better things and so I closed the door and didn't look back.

My First Soccer Game

2007-08-20T13:25:00.000-04:00

I went to my first soccer game ever. And yes, I can refer to it as football because I am living with a British boy and that is how it is referred to in our house. We saw the NY Red Bulls v. LA Galaxy (David Beckham's team). It was super cool and super fun and David Beckahm is super hot. Overall, it was super. I would love to see another live game in the future (wink, wink).

Here's one photo Seth took on his iPhone, which is another post in itself. More to come...

48 Hours of Pure Move

2007-08-07T17:22:00.000-04:00

The Durangoooooooo
Where to begin... I guess at the ginormous SUV we happened to snag at the car rental place. Seth and I signed up for an SUV we thought was going to be the size of a Ford Explorer. Instead, they gave us a huge Durango that had two rows of back seats AND space behind that. In the long run, this car was the perfect size, down to a T. I mean, we barely got this one thing from Ikea to fit, but it did.

GPS Sucks
So, yeah, we took the car to Ikea. Seth got GPS to help navigate us there. At first, we thought this was the best thing ever. "Turn right at.... Now it is time to turn left." But once you made a mistake, the thing got annoying. "Recalculating." I felt like I was being graded on something every time that thing went "recalculating." We turned it off halfway through our journey.

U, Me and Ikea
Um, wow. I've never been to Ikea and I was ready to buy nearly every room in the place. It is cool how they have it set up with arrows guiding you and all. You really can't escape the entire tour of Ikea. They are clever, those Swedes. We ended up getting the stuff we set out to get. I won't divulge what those things are. You will have to come to our house-warming instead... (Michael, Beau and Erin - you are these exception.)

The Laundry Cart is THE BEST
Believe me when I tell you that that Thursday night we went to Ikea we had nearly 1000 lbs of stuff in the back of the car. Don't even ask how we managed to get in the car in the first place. And we moved each-and-every-single piece from the car to my apartment by using a laundry cart from our laundry room. I thought it would break after the first round of moving those boxes, but it did the job. I'm still impressed... and still feeling the pain of lifting and carrying and moving and dying.

Me and the SUV
I never thought my first time driving in NYC would be in a big-ass SUV, but it was. And of course I couldn't operate this big piece of machinery on my own, so I called on Court to help me handle this powerful vehicle. (Seth had driven the entire time and he had a Dr's appointment and I needed to get a trolley from work to move all the stuff out of my apartment so that's how we ended up in this situation.)

So there we were - two girls in an oversized SUV, heading downtown. I felt like Tony Soprano in this thing and I have to say, I took to the streets of NYC quickly. I think all those cab rides really paid off cause I made some quick moves and turns. Oh and the horn on that car did wonders, by the way.

Unfortunately, our fun came to a dead end when we pulled off the Westside Highway in apparently a road we could not go down - even though we were going in the right direction. With construction down there, those roads change all the time. Anyway, this obese traffic guard came over to me and reamed me out, "Do you know how to read? Did you see those signs?! You can't go up that road!" She shouted at me as if I was some NYC socialite driving wherever I wanted. No respect whatsoever. She had a mean attitude since I did the turn. And here's the best part, she told me I had to back into the Westside Highway and go back down the highway - in this SUV no less. Talk about "Safety First." I tried to explain to her that until 15 minutes ago I had never driven in NYC, let alone in an SUV - but she wasn't having it. She went even more mental on me. The last thing you want to do when dealing with me in NYC and on PMS with 5 hour sleep is get bitchy with me. I was like, "Lady, I just need to go straight! Why can't you let me do that!? How about a little compassion!?!? I haven't driven in NYC before - you are going to cause me to get into an accident by BACK INTO THE Westside highway with this vehicle!" I think I said the word "compassion" like 4 times. But, the battle was lost from the beginning. And I did it, with the help of the other crossing guard, who clearly felt bad but not bad enough to stand up to this bullish bitch of a woman. You win some, you lose some.

Ping-Pong
That's what it felt like, moving all of my stuff from one apartment to the next. This is how I moved into my last apartment, by shleping bags back and forth in a cart. Back then, it was a 3 block distance, this was 2. In 48 hours, mission was accomplished. Seth and I managed to move all of my stuff from 5G to 3D using the little cart from work, 2 suitcases and a duffel bag.

Move'd

2007-08-05T22:27:00.001-04:00

I've moved! I am 100% moved in, as is the boy. Stories and all that to come shortly - everything from the big SUV to me pushing my stuff (including furniture) from the old place to the new place, two blocks away, to our trip to Ikea. Until then, I leave you with this, a preview of the new digs:

Happy Birthday, Blog!

2007-07-18T12:46:00.000-04:00

Travis Mania

2007-07-16T17:33:00.000-04:00

What - a - weekend. As mentioned in a previous post, this weekend was all about seeing Travis. And, as always, they delivered. I have now seen this band eight times and have met them four times. Can you tell they are my favorite band? They never disappoint - both on and off stage. As Seth said after we met them last night, they were trying to engage us in the conversation just as much as we were trying to engage them. A class act overall.

When I first saw them at Roseland Ballroom back in 2000, I didn't know what I was in for. Having left the show on a natural high, I knew I was going to be with this band for the long haul. Through the years, their sound has evolved as have I. Their music brings me so much joy. That's all you can really ask for from musicians.

Check: www.myspace.com/travis

Photos: by Seth Dawes

Mother Knows Best

2007-07-13T10:48:00.000-04:00

And now it's time for one of my mom's many emails to me critiquing my blog:

From: Susan Carroll
Subject: Blog
Date: July 12, 2007 02:32:47 PM EDT
To: Annie Lennon Carroll

Vern walked down the aisle. Not eye. Annie!!!!!

It has since been changed. Thanks, ma.

Got My Eye On You

2007-07-10T17:30:00.000-04:00

Eyes Wide Shut
I got my haircut on Tuesday and so everyone at work noticed on Thursday or Friday that I had, indeed, had a cut. But, I also had a new addition to my head. In what I would describe as a worst case scenario, the new set of contacts I got the day before from the eye doctor was totally bothering me. The doctor decided to try a new brand on me and my eyes were not having it. On Friday, at 10:23am, I had to take my contacts out (gasp) and put on my “only 5 minutes before bed would I ever where these” glasses. So when I ran into co-workers, my heart dropped a beat the minute they were like, “Ohmigod, you-“ and I thought they were going to say have glasses! But, to my relief, were only interested in the haircut. “Ohmigod! You cut your hair! I love it.” Needless to say, I survived last Friday on my new do, which kept attention away from my horrible, no good, very bad day glasses.

Eyes Wide Open
This weekend I went home for my near and dear friend, Vern’s, wedding. As she walked down the aisle, I started to tear up for so many reasons. I’ve known this girl since she was 12. I’ve known this girl before she even liked boys. I’ve known this girl before we even started calling her Vern. This was the first wedding where I got to see one of my friends get married. She looked absolutely stunning and I couldn’t be any happier for her and her husband, Keith, a great man who will give her all that she deserves. That’s all we can ask for.

The wedding was over-the-top. Eight piece band with two extraordinary singers, dry ice when the bride and groom were introduced, two pieces of filet mignon, two desserts, bags for the ten trays of homemade Italian cookies to take home, open bar and more. It was quite the affair and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Of course, Vern will always be Vern at any age. And there is something really great in that.

My Eyes
I’m so stoked for this weekend! First off, it’s the first weekend that I actually get to wake up in my own bed without and alarm clock since June 9. That’s a lot of weekends spent out of the apartment. I’m also going to see my all time favorite band, Travis, at Irving Plaza. I cannot even express to you how overly excited I am to see them. It has been nearly three four years since they were last here and after their last album came out in May, I’m totally pumped to hear old and new tunes, especially “My Eyes,” which you can all listen to on their MySpace page. I really really really cannot wait until Saturday night. Like really.

Rock & Roll and then sum...

2007-07-03T14:16:00.000-04:00

My Weekend as a Band-Aid

This past weekend was spent seeing bands, bands and more bands. It was nothing but pure ecstasy to see so many great performances and in total spending only $10 to see all nine of them. On Friday, a few of us went to South Street Seaport for their free summer concerts. If there is one thing I have learned at my current job, besides how to produce TV, it is to listen to my co-worker's music suggestions. Greg Nelson has never steered me wrong when it comes to seeing great bands in NYC (his band, Luxe Pop, is no exception!). And the seaport has killer bands before they become big... and having a beer garden right next to the stage is an added bonus. We saw Ra Ra Riot and Sam Champion, both quality acts that you can check out on MySpace or clicking on the links I provided. Guarantee one of those two bands will be playing at bigger venues within a year, just like Hot Chip from the summer before.

Saturday I was totally looking forward because I was seeing one of my favorite bands, The Redwalls in Park Slope. A few weeks earlier I was so bummed to see they were playing on July 4 in Hoboken. This is one of the few bands I have yet to see that is in my top ten. As luck would have it, I noticed in Friday's amNY that they were playing at Southpaw for $10 with Robbers on High Street (another favorite) and tickets were still available! Clearly hipsters missed the boat on this one. In order to understand by excitement, you need to know that I had issues falling asleep Friday night because I could not wait to see either band. And they both delivered! I was on a natural high after The Redwalls performed. I even managed to talk to one of them on the way to the bar!!!!!!!!! Hey, when opportunity knocks... I mean, I have learned enough from meeting Travis and Hanson on how to conduct myself around musicians - speak from the heart, as cheesy as it is. It also helps to be a huge music lover and appreciator, which is 100% me. I also have to mention the opening act, Baby Teeth. They also knew how to rock and captivate the audience.

On our way back to Seth's place in Williamsburg, I craved food. And I managed to spot 500 feet away the one restaurant that was open. I didn't care what food was in there, I just wanted food. So we went in. It was this Puerto Rican restaurant that was jam-packed with Puerto Ricans dancing, eating and having a really fun time. While we waited for our food, we did a little dance by the counter and before we knew it, we were dragged onto the dance floor by this Puerto Rican family. I could see out of the corner of my eye Seth being spun around as I'm being dipped. This is one of those experiences that only happen when traveling in foreign countries. It was surreal. The family ended up talking to us, buying us beer. We were speaking Spanish, drinking Coronas and hitting the dance floor. What seemed like five minutes was nearly two hours spent in del Puerto something or another restaurant. We ended up passing out upon our arrival at the apartment... totally forgetting about the food we ordered.

Sunday was spent at McCarren Park Pool, watching several decent bands for free. This venue is insane. There are no police around whatsoever. There are thousands of hipsters hanging out, living life and having fun. There is beer, hot dogs and hamburgers. The stage is massive. There is a huge slip and slide that young and old, (extra) big and small were going on, that proved to be quite entertaining to the onlookers like myself, but the most entertaining event, besides the music, was the dodge ball game going on. Every Sunday inside the pool they have an ongoing dodge ball game. You line up to play and then twelve people take each side, whatever team wins stays on for the next match until they lose. This one team, consisting of all athletic guys, could not be beat. I think I watched them play for nearly two hours. I refused to stop watching until one team could take them down. And after twelve consecutive wins... they finally were over. I could move on with my life.

And so, whew, that was my weekend. We also biked all around Manhattan on Saturday and managed to watch some TV as well. Productive? I think so.

Where to begin?

2007-06-28T17:27:00.000-04:00

Pet Peeve - I find it annoying and rather condescending when I?m waiting for the elevator and someone else comes along and pushes the same button I did the button that is already lit up ? in the hopes that by having them push it, the elevator would come faster. I think we all know that the elevator never arrives faster by pressing the button multiple times.

Speaking of the elevator, I just got stuck in the elevator for ten minutes by myself at work. That was fun. Real fun. No air conditioning, no company, no fear. (Ha! remember those "NO Fear" shirts everyone wore in 8th grade?!?) My greatest fear was of course, having the elevator drop. All I could think about was the Tower of Terror, which is not helpful or conducive to someone in this situation. The intercom guy talked to me and could see me in the camera. I like didn't move. I was trying to keep me cool. The only good thing was that we just had a birthday party for my co-worker, so I was in the elevator with my piece of cake. That was nice. That took my mind off the Tower of Terror for a bit. Then, out of nowhere, the thing started moving. My first reaction, was a jump. Then I realized all was good in the hood. I was released on the right floor and ran back to my desk, lovingly.

I was home in CT over the weekend. If I haven?t said it before, a good portion of my summer will be spent in CT due to weddings, showers and of course, bachelorette parties. (My god, it?s starting?) But that?s ok because unlike last summer where I spent all of my time planning a revolution, this summer I have time to actually get a tan and look good. So I have no qualms about weekends in CT. Anyway, I was home over the weekend watching MSNBC because my parents only get 5 channels. How you can do this to a child that works in television is insulting, but such is life. I?m sure my parents rebuttal to that last statement is ?money does not grow on trees? ? that?s from mom and dad?s would be, ?those are the only channels we watch.? Anyway, I was home and watching MSNBC in the morning cause the boy was still asleep upstairs and my parents had gone to the gym, so I was just waiting.They kept running the same story over and over on MSNBC. It was about a 9-months pregnant woman who disappeared 10 days ago. Her two year-old son told his grandmother, who found him alone later that day, that his mom was crying and broke the table and was in a rug. All these people were searching these fields in Ohio for this woman, who they believed was killed by her ex-boyfriend. The father was on camera, very emotional yet hopeful. I just think when you have thousands of volunteers going through fields, there isn't much hope. I mean, are you hoping they find her alive in the woods, just waiting for rescuers? Of course, the next morning, they found her and the fetus both dead. Murdering is sick to begin with, but there is something really sick about killing a woman who is 9-months pregnant. My point is, though, that there must be other news happening somewhere on this planet that they can do a story on other than just this one in Ohio.

There is something really wrong with Larry King's line-up last night. I saw an online banner for the program. It went like this, "The Beatles at 7, Paris Hilton at 8, Michael Moore at 9." Now, I know some of you think The Beatles thing is the weird thing about that line-up. That is strange, but Larry had on Paul, Ringo, Yoko and George Harrison's wife - thats what they meant by "The Beatles." It's just weird to see Paris sandwiched in that line-up. As my PA Lisa pointed out, "That show has its priorities wrong." She's great like that - my PA is very candid and sums up situations nicely.

You know what would be really funny...

2007-06-14T15:54:00.000-04:00

You know what would be really funny...if Paris Hilton was allowed to leave jail and fulfill the rest of her sentence under house arrest and then have the judge order her back to prison with her frantically screaming "mom" as she was escorted out of the courtroom. Now THAT would be really funny. I guess dreams really do come true. Why does this news have everyone laughing with delight? Well, the obvious answer: We are just so damn happy someone with no job, no responsiblities, no cares in the world finally has something to cry about (and the screaming to "mommy" bit was just a lovely added bonus to this whole situation). Now, I know she was only arrested several times with a DUI, which doesn't really warrant a 45 day jail sentence,if you ask me. BUT arriving to court ridiculously late to appeal the DUI under a suspended license does not bode well. And that is probably why she got the sentece she did. It's about R-E-S-P-E-C-T when you are dealing with someone called "your honor." Maybe she will learn that in prison along with finding god. But enough about this Hilton. Let's revel in the fact that we still have a good 30+ days without seeing this blonde bimbo in the news.

*spoiler alert*
You know what would be really funny...if they ended The Sopranos as if your TV cable broke. Yeah, so funny. It only took America a good minute (or whenever the credits came up) to realize that that really was the end of the show. At first, I was a bit disappointed and confused. That's it?! But my roommate justified the ending and now I really love it. Life goes on for the Sopranos, just as it did when we first met them eight seasons ago. And how could you not love that ending song?! Although, "Ob la di, Ob la da" would have worked too. "Life goes on, bra, la la la how life goes on.." I thought it was not only a great ending of the season, but tied the whole series together nicely.

You know what would be really funny...if Congress told our President to forget that immigration bill. I just love how Republicans are abandoning their "master" now that his approval rating is around the same number as my age. I for one, supported the bill. I do believe some of the hardest working people in this country are illegal immigrants. And they should have the right to be made legal if they have been here working for a considerable amount of time. We take our citizenship for granted. We really do. Do you know, according to a poll in Newsweek that 74% of immigrants (either legal or illegal) believe in the American Dream? Versus a mere 59% of Americans citizens. Talk about being patriotic... we don't believe in the one thing that makes us the greatest country in the world.

You know what would be really funny...if the weather people acutally predicted correct weather. No, I guess that would not be funny, that would just be really nice. I might as well call Miss Cleo to find out what the weather is going to be. I'm sure her prediction is more accurate. I don't know how to dress for work in the morning. I end up looking like I'm going on vacation with all the layers of clothes I pack. Here's my hoodie, my rain jacket, my umbrella, my hat, a scarf, a jacket, a t-shirt. The most annoying thing is how all the meteorologist are like, look at my Super Dopler Radar 3000. This thing tells us everything about the weather! Um, no, it doesn't. It looks like something a graphic designer put together for the weather station. If you want to prove how SUPER your Dopler 3000 Radar thing is, report the weather as it is really going to be and not a 50% guess of "well it will be partly sunny AND partly cloudy" cause then I can do that job.

You know what would be really funny...if I actually write in my blog more than once a month in June. I really am trying to make an effort from this point forward. We shall see...

Long Distance Call

2007-05-23T13:42:00.000-04:00

My Pets,

I am sorry I have been MIA the past few weeks. Life, in a nutshell, has taken off. There are simply not enough hours in a day to work, go to the gym, spend time with friends, eat, sleep and save the world all at once. But I promise to write a decent, juicy post soon - filled with my own life reflections along with reflections on life in general. The first paragraph will begin like this: "You know what would be really funny..." Until then, keep it real!

Big ups and big love,

Annie xx

By BANKSY

What Goes Around, Comes Around

2007-05-08T00:29:00.000-04:00

Justice has been served! Ok, who else was thrilled to read the headline that Paris Hilton will spend 45 days in jail? Now that's anything but the simple life. One of my film professors used to say you have to take the opposite of a hit to create your own. For example, take Survivor and call your show Victim. I sense this could be a spin-off as well called "The not so simple life." Copyrighted as of right now.

In other news, I always knew it would pay off to have the inside of my glove autographed by Roger Clemens back in 4th grade. Well not officially signed by him, but burned into the glove as part of some series. I still use that glove today. It's the best and I doubt I will ever stop using it... as long as my dad keeps on top of the glove's strings and over all condition.

Well I did it. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I served my five month long distance relationship. Wow... I never gave enough credit to those people who have done this in the past. It's so not easy, but there was always light at the end of the tunnel and now we are finally at the end of the tunnel. WAHOO! Seth lands in about 13 hours. : ) You can tell I'm excited because I never use :) this in any of my posts.

So drinko de mayo was a ton of fun. It's always nice throwing a party that has a theme that you didn't just make up. It is also nice to decorate for a theme that actually has decorations to go with it. All I have to say is that there was sooo much tequilla. It flowed like the chocolate river during Willy Wonka. And we all severely paid for it the following day. To just get up, get dressed and go to Pie felt like a triathalon.

Most used word by me of the month: yikes! Not sure how this krept into my vocabulary, but it did. I say and think it all the time. Yikes! ooo, yikes. YIKES! hmmmm.

And finally, I can never seem to paint my nails without smudging one. So-not-cool.

Crawling

2007-05-01T17:30:00.000-04:00

Cherry Popped!
I went on my very first pub crawl on Saturday. How is it I have lived in the city for nearly seven years and still have not been on a pub crawl is beyond me. Seeing how this event was organized by my clever and creative friends BJ and Sarah, I could not turn it down. A specialized pub crawl is not something to be missed! It was St. George’s Pub Crawl, you know – the British guy who killed the dragon to rescue the princess. So the theme was all about dragons, England and princesses and knights. I dragged my friend James along to the event, who just moved to the city. He too was a virgin to the pub crawl scene.

So there we were. At our first pub. James in a Dragon mask, me holding a small St. George flag. I felt like the fact I actually am dating a 100% British boy makes me closer to the cause. We were given name tags to fill out with two requests – to not use our real name and to have it be something British. It only made sense that my name was “Lady and...” and James was “…the Tramp.” The goal was 12 pubs that BJ specifically picked with thirty minutes at each bar. And we’re off!

I didn’t think I’d last the day, but I did. However, I did look preggers by the end, as I had so much beer my little belly, but it was worth the experience. In total, there were about 20 of us in the first bar at 1pm. At the end of the crawl, at 10p, I would say closer to 30 people had joined us, one being my roommate Jess. Some people we just picked up at bars! Whoever you didn’t know at the beginning you knew at the end. We all became friends and buddies as we traveled from bar to bar, beer to beer. The pictures demonstrate this as well, but the link to these photos are being guarded by a dragon, in fear they may be used as blackmail, especially the ones taken after 5pm. Needless to say, I had blast and look forward to the 3^rd Annual Pub Crawl by BJ and Sarah in 2008. Wahoo!

Speaking of crawling…crawl around the entire globe by watching: Planet Earth. Best show on TV. Discovery Channel. The most AMAZING (understatement) footage I've ever seen in my entire life on Earth. No, you will not understand what I mean until you watch this show, or at the very least, visit the website. Watch it now, be amazed forever.

XYZs of Patriotism

2007-04-25T15:33:00.000-04:00

Patriotism in this country works like an on/off switch when it comes to American casualties. The days after last week’s Virginia Tech massacre had the media devoting limitless airtime and articles to this event, with all of us glued 24/7. I realize a student’s shooting spree that resulted in 32 deaths is not something any person can easily digest. It is critical that the media reports tragedies such as Columbine and VT for a proper amount of time in order for the American people to understand, to mourn and then to move on. If we can dedicate this amount of attention to those Americans who are unjustly killed on our soil, then why are we not giving the same amount of airwaves and print space to those who have fallen in the line of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially when the number of deaths is over one hundred times that of the VT killings? (I would speak to the horrific number of innocent Iraqis whose lives have been lost as a result of the Iraq war, but why bother? We do not even recognize the deaths of our own US soldiers. Hell, we cannot even see the photos of the coffins coming home!)

My solution is this: Every day, from here on in, on the front page of every national newspaper and at the end of every nightly news program, there should be a photo and a biography of each US soldier that has been killed in the Middle East. By doing this we not only get a sense of that person, but we also give them the respect, honor and attention they deserve for giving up their life to preserve ours. Anything less than that, to me, is unpatriotic.

Does this look like "Mission Accomplished" to you?

2007-04-15T12:41:00.000-04:00

Four days ago, the Sarafiya Bridge over the Tigris River in Baghdad was badly damaged when a truck filled with explosives blew up as morning rush hour was getting under way.

On May 1st, it will be FOUR YEARS since Dubya claimed, "Mission Accomplished." The numbers, on the other hand, speak for themselves:

---------------------- May 1, 2003 v. Today

U.S. Troops Wounded 542 v. 17,469

U.S. Troops Killed 130 v. 2,400

Size of U.S. Forces 150,000 v. 132,000

Size of Iraqi Security Forces 7,000 v. 250,500

Number of Insurgents 5,000 v. 15,000-20,000

Insurgent Attacks Per Day 8 v. 75

Cost to U.S. Taxpayers $79 billion v. $320 billion

Approval of Bush’s Handling of Iraq 75% v. 7%

Percentage of Americans who Believe The Iraq War Was “Worth Fighting 70% v. 41%

Bush’s Overall Job Approval 71% v. 38%

Two Words

2007-04-13T00:40:00.001-04:00

About Time
I know all of you, well some of you, really none of you, are sick of looking at the Jake Gyllenhaal photo for the last two weeks. But alas, I decided to write something and move on with my life. Where shall I begin?

Running Away
Oh yes, my flight back from England on Monday. I do not know why this is fascinating to me, but I sat next to the most pretentious, elitist of British guys ever. He was escaping to NYC for two weeks. I don’t know what he was doing flying in economy since he grew up in the richest neighborhood of London and then attended Eton with Prince William and Harry (one degree!) and on to row for Oxford right before he became a barrister (lawyer of sorts) in British law with friends in high places. He was a very specific type, the one all authors base their pretentious, elitist character on. Oh and it doesn’t get better than this. His name was Maxmillan.

Love Lamb
I had lamb and liked it! Easter Sunday was spent over eating a very traditional Sunday British roast in addition to playing a game that involved getting a player to say “yes” or “no” to ten questions on a card. Quite enjoyable and quite delicious. Now about what I learned on custard…

White Girl
My mentoring is going well. It’s been nearly a month that I’ve been going to spend time with a group of teenage kids in foster care and I am learning a lot. I’ll say one thing, life gets put into perspective and this experience so far has been a two way street. Having been paired with my own mentee, Tuesdays finally are not that bad. Also, without this mentoring program, I don’t think I would have gone to see “Dead Silence.”

Web Counselor
So a site was finally designed to help you put your surfing skills to good use. Check out: http://www.tilzy.tv/ Tilzy TV is a guide to entertainment on the web... because there is more to entertainment than just YouTube. This was a site created and designed by two friends. Impressive and more importantly, useful.

Red Hot
I am still kicking myself for not getting a ticket to see the Chili Peppers last fall at Giants Stadium. It is not like tickets came out and I was wishy-washy about them. Tickets for the Chili Peppers came out before I got Stadium Arcadium. While I was heavily into the Peppers in 2003, it has been a while since I had listened to them and thus, didn’t rush to get the album. Once I got it, though, I quickly became obsessed and now, without a question, is a band where I will always buy their album the day it comes out along with tickets to their concert. As you can tell, I am still very much obsessed with this band and continue to listen to their music on a daily basis. I think 38% of my posts contain a line about the Chili Peppers.

Today's Date
And let's not forget what day it is. Don't walk under any ladders, spill salt, break a mirror and whatever you do, under any circumstances, is let a black cat cross your path (except Jazz). Muh ha ha.

I KISSED JAKE LAST NIGHT AT BAR 6!!!!!

2007-04-01T12:46:00.002-04:00

Happy April Fools, bitches!
(I love Seth.)

Certain Luxuries in Life

2007-03-26T21:21:00.000-04:00

Certain luxuries in life people take for granted. I am not a fan of mass transportation when the journey is more than forty minutes. (I don’t mind the subway. I rather enjoy riding it. And I’d still ride it even if I were worth a billion.) It’s just an unpleasant experience because people are on their cell phones behind you or there is a baby across from you screaming or you have no room to move. It is always something. I have found I’ve had similar experiences in movie theaters. It’s a no-win situation. If I come late, I can see where all the couples are sitting or little kids and that provides me with an advantage of choosing a better seat. However, coming later may mean sitting in the first few rows of the theater and at that point it’s like why bother.

Today I saw a lot of NYPD around. I’m always curious when they come out in flocks downtown. Does that mean something or are they just training? The worst is when they have their sniper rifles. Anyway, they were in full force today. Outside my office, in all the subway stations, on the sidewalks - like I said, full force. My first instinct should something happen would be to run as fast as possible toward the Westside Highway. By doing this I would be near the water and fast-moving cars, which can take me further from the scene. And if that fails, we know I can run at least five files up the highway toward safety. I hope I’m never in that situation, though. I don’t know what I would do if this city was attacked again. For me, it would be like someone torturing a family member. I couldn’t take it. I love this city so much. It’s a place for everyone. What’s wrong with a place like that?

While I was at my parents’ house over the weekend, we decided to watch the Beatles Anthology. We only got through the first disc, of five, but it was great to see the Beatles rise from no one to someone. They really had no idea how famous they’d be and I love that. Of course, Ma because the fifth Beatle. Every song that came on, which was every five minutes, she felt compelled to sing along to – from beginning to end. I put this DVD in to learn about the musicians IN ADDITION to listening to their music. And instead, every song was song by the Beatles and Mom. And when they were not singing, Ma felt compelled to tell me every few minutes how the Beatles were a huge part of her growing up. “Annie, you don’t understand. I thought about the Beatles ALL THE TIME. We would play the same records at least 500 times. I’m not kidding.” When I see all these girls on the DVD screaming and passing out, it’s insane, hysteria, it’s Beatles Mania. No seriously, that’s Girls Gone Wild. I’ve never seen anything like that. Nothing, and I mean nothing, compares to that today.

The Beginning of the End

2007-03-23T09:18:00.000-04:00

Sudoku
I got myself hooked on Sudoku. This new hobby is addicting. When I stay late at work to edit, I print out at least 15 sheets of Sudoku. It doesn’t take much skill, but it requires you to think and work the problem out. I know most of you reading this are now wondering how one plays sudoku and let me tell you, it’s really easy. But I can’t take the time to explain it over my blog. If you want to know how to play, you know where to find me (playing Sudoku while editing).

Four Years Ago:
How many deaths does it take til he knows that too many people have died? A few days ago we recognized the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. And I want to bring this number to your attention because you never see it in the news anymore:

3229.

That is the number of US casualties in Iraq. I think once they hit the 3000 mark, they didn’t want to draw attention to the number that will soon hit 4000 and then 5000 and so on and so forth until we (well, Congress or god forbid the President) say enough is enough. And for those who have asked me, I do plan to do Number the Dead again – a cause worth taking a stand again. Not this year, but in 2008, sometime in the fall, right before the elections. Coincidence on my part? I think not.

On a separate note, how many more headlines do I have to read of W saying, ‘”It takes patience” and ‘We need a few more months in Iraq”? We’ve been reading these same lines from him for the past four years. How many more months will it take before we, the people, can’t take it anymore. Truth be told, I want to vomit every single time I see that same old, same old headline from W, who doesn’t even know what it means to be at war, that draft dodger.

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!
Bill Maher raised a point on his show last week that has stuck with me ever since. Unlike past wars we’ve fought in, we have no connection to this war in Iraq. There is no draft, no rationing, no drives. We go about our daily lives, forgetting that there is a war going on. Maybe you would think twice if ever other friend of yours was being shipped overseas or maybe you would think twice if you had to ration your cost of living in order to give the troops the equipment and amour they need. It’s a sad reality that a country can send hundreds of thousands of men and women into harms way and then almost wash their hands of them. Wait, a war is going on!? This is not the land of the free and the home of the brave I want to be a part of.

My Polar Cub
Tell me… how cute is this new polar cub? Don’t you want to take it home? If you fly to Berlin, where the cub’s digs are, you can at least check him out at the local zoo. His name is Knut. Can you tell he’s a German polar bear? He is 15 weeks ago and he’s just the cutest thing ever.

Mission: Accomplished
Unlike the President, I know when a mission is accomplished. Yesterday I ran five miles at the gym. Count them – one, two, three, four, five miles! That was my goal in the beginning of January and I feel pretty darn good. I’ve continued to go to the gym, one of two resolutions for this year. The other resolution I have upheld as well: flossing. As you can see, 2007 is all about my health. My only regret is that I wish I was more health conscious in my late teens and early twenties. I wish I had this motivation to be in great shape and eat healthily when I was in school. As the saying goes, though, better late than never.

My Boyfriend, The Photographer

2007-03-18T18:51:00.000-04:00

Like all good girlfriends, I have to plug my boyfriend's new site, which displays his incredible talent as a photographer. And I'm not just saying that. He has the eye and if you don't believe me, see for yourself: www.sethdawesphoto.com

One photo you will see on his site:

One photo you will not see on his site. He took this himself:

He's open for business: seth@sethdawesphoto.com

Picture Show

2007-03-16T09:49:00.001-04:00

It’s so funny. One of my old friends from my days of working at the movie theater back in T-town during college breaks just IMed me. We haven’t talked in a while. We weren’t really even close when we worked together, but we always enjoyed seeing a free flick together after shoveling popcorn for eight hours. He’s a person I think most people would rather find hard to believe I’m friends with. This kid is the epitome of the Republican right. We do not see eye to eye on ANY political issue and that’s ok because I don’t like to hang out with him to talk about that. He’s incredibly smart and is working on his PhD for a math higher than calculus, which I didn’t know existed until he told me. A math higher than calculus? It is in a field called mathematical logic and computability theory. But Tyler and I really get along because of one common trait – sarcasm. How many times did I nearly joke on popcorn over Tyler’s dry humor? Close to a million times. Good times. Anyway, Tyler just IMed me because he will be in the city this weekend for a math conference. They have those? Our goal is to catch a flick, for old time’s sake. And old time’s sake is right. It’s been over three years since we’ve last hung out and I have to say I’m really looking forward to that Tyler wit. I’m rather amazed that I manage to keep in touch with different people throughout my life.

Cheating on New York

2007-03-15T23:21:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I broke the piggy bank and went to London on a whim. Actually, this is how it went: Tuesday I got my income tax return check. Wednesday I booked a ticket (plug: priceline.com so cheap!) to New York and Thursday I was on an overnight flight to London. As a result of my late, late edit sessions earlier in the week, I was given Friday off in compensation. Funny how life works out like that. I didn’t tell anyone at the first thought of the idea. Then I broke and told Courtney because I knew she would tell me what I wanted to hear. “Realistically, you can save your money or you can just live your life, my friend.” And so I decided to live a little and the rest is history.

Seth had no absolutely no idea that I was coming. I had a great alibi lined up in that Beau was coming to town and we were gonna hang out, which was true. Beau did come to town that weekend, but we hung out Monday night instead. I love Beau. And so I made my way by underground to his office and had his co-worker sign me in and viola! Surprise! Oh-my-gawd. What are you doing here?!?! My only regret is not having a camera to capture his first reaction. The boy was so stunned it took him a few seconds before he gave me a kiss. Finally! I managed to pull off a great surprise. For those who know my relationship with Seth, which is really no one, he likes to surprise me… a lot. And they are always great surprises. I can’t live keep up! But alas… I got the mother of all surprises. And that’s why you always need to break the piggy bank every now and again.

So I took a long weekend in London and it really did give me an adequate amount of time there with that extra day. I’m glad I never did something like this in the past because if I knew how great a short weekend in London could be, I may have done it more often in the past.

At The Gym

2007-03-05T21:40:00.000-05:00

I’ve been trying to make a conscious effort to go to the gym… not just because it’s my new year’s resolution, but because I weighed myself the other day and it’s so not the weight I wanted to see. I have a real incentive to not only get back to my desired weight, but also to get in the best shape of my life. I figure, I’m 25 and I’m not gonna have this kind of body for the rest of my life, so might as well get it as hottt as I possibly (yet realistically) can.

My routine consists of running and doing the machine for arms. Ironically enough my stomach and waist are the last things that need help, if any at all. So why bother? I have been running at least three miles and doing at least two machines per workout. My goal is to be able to run five miles effortlessly and I think I can achieve that. As for my arms, I want them toned, eliminating that little flabby part underneath the top part of my arm.

There I was, at the gym today when a series of interesting events passed my way. First, I did the treadmill. Why is it I always get on a machine next to someone who seems to be in a race with me? The girl next me (Paris Hilton’s doppelganger) was going for a leisurely walk until I stepped onto the treadmill. I start jogging, a cool 9.5 minute miles and out of no where she starts up too. And it’s the most annoying run ever because every five seconds she decides to stop on the machine – not stop the machine – but jumped to the side to stretch and catch her breath. Obviously this is distracting because she stretches over to my area, making me lose my focus. Bitch. Every five seconds. Of course, me being a competitive person by nature is determined to outrun her and that’s what I do. I run her off the machine. At around twenty-three minutes she slows down her speed, starts walking and then ends her time on the treadmill. Bye-bye! And as she steps off, Ebenezer Scrooge gets on next to me. This guy must’ve been at least sixty-five, skin hanging on his bones, is in no shape to be in this gym. Yup, this is who gets on the treadmill. To make matters worse, he starts running 8 minute miles. I’m thinking I’m going to have to save the guy as he goes into cardiac arrest. Seriously, I was set to make my hero move in the event this guy was going to keel over or, even worse, fall off the treadmill. But alas, the old geezer made it through, or at least until I got off the treadmill ten minutes later.

I decide to go upstairs and do my arms at this point. Now, I’m at the gym near my office, which I hardly ever go to and when I do go there it’s usually just to run. I’ve never been to the weight area before… and I’ll never do it again. The machines are completely different than that of my gym. Which totally blows because they already look intimidating and just the idea of me trying to figure out how to use them in front of all these meatheads makes me want to vomit. Instead, I get one of the free weights and do arm curls. I guess I wasn’t do them properly cause this gladiator girl, who was also doing similar weights, kept giving me looks. And as I’m never one to take a dirty look, I give her a glare back like, “you wanna piece of me?!” That shut her up. Of course, I only made it through one set of reps after her glances. So I decide to try the machine. Wow. Yeah, should have stuck with my original instinct which is to not touch. My arms had enough.

Since I’m editing late at work tonight, I had to shower at the gym. That’s why I went to the one near my office. While my editor put all my footage into the computer (which generally takes two hours) for our late night session, I went to the gym. I came prepared to shower – flip-flops, soap and everything. I make my way to the shower, still in my gym attire as I am so not near the point of walking around naked or half naked like most of the other women. I’m in my stall, I take a nice warm shower, I get out and put the towel around me. Why are the towels so not in proportion to any normal body? When you are asking yourself which private part to cover up, you know there’s an issue with the size of the towel.

At this point the locker room is practically empty except, as luck would have it, there was one girl right next to my locker. She just finished her work out and was sprawled out as if she owned the bench and all the lockers in front of it. And I thought I was an only child. Talk about selfish and self-absorbed. This is a communal locker room after all. I make my way over to my locker and the girl does not even move. Like seriously, this is not the VIP session. So I undo my lock, get all my stuff out and in one swoop move to a completely empty bench. I was not going to let that ruin my work-out. And it didn’t. I got changed, put some of the club’s lotion on, which smells good and does wonder for the skin, and made my way back to work.

So here I sit, waiting to edit while trying not to get tired. I feel energize, which turns out to be the hidden gem of going to the gym tonight because energized is what I need to get through the rest of the night.

2007-03-02T10:23:00.000-05:00

Quotes of The Day:

1. “Scientists in China say they have manipulated the flight patterns of pigeons.” YES! Because if there is any bird on this planet that I would like to have scientist manipulate the flight pattern of it would be pigeons, those flying rats.

2. “Blast killed 66 in Baghdad.” “Suicide bomber kills 51 at Iraqi college.” “Explosion kills 74 in town outside of Baghdad.” How are there any Iraqis left to kill? If 6% of your population was completely wiped out, you’d notice.

3. Winston Churchill said, “If you’re not a liberal when you’re 20, you have no heart, but if you’re not a conservative by the time you’re 40, you have no brain.” Um, if you are 40 and conservative that means you have lost your heart and need to check your brain.

A Scene from The Big Chill

Michael: I don't know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They're more important than sex.
Sam Weber: Ah, come on. Nothing's more important than sex.
Michael: Oh yeah? Ever gone a week without a rationalization?

We do not give enough credit to the power of being able to think outside the day to day. Yeah, I think it would suck more to go without a realization for a week than to not have sex. Maybe it's not for everyone, but it is for me.

Guess Who's Baaaack...

My old fish-buddy! You remember the one:

I have the responsibility of taking care of a this beta fish for five - count them five - whole days. It'll be nice to have something to monitor on a daily basis again. At the same time, fish have a high death rate and can go any time after the age of one. So, I feel a lot of weight on my shoulder to make sure it survives.

Well Today Sucks

I woke up at 4am to what seemed to be Dorothy's tornado outside my window. It was so windy and rainy I thought my room was going to fly out of the apartment. And you know when you are wide awake at 4am there is no hope to getting back to sleep before 7am and then you are left in that half asleep-half awake state which is never lovely.

Who Do I Write for Today?

2007-02-21T17:35:00.000-05:00

Love Me Do
I write this for you, Cooter, since you are the only one who ever leaves me comments on a regular basis on my posts. Now I know some of you are thinking, well if I wrote something worth commenting on, then you would leave a comment. And yet you keep coming back for more… It doesn’t take much to comment. You just click on the comment link and then viola! write your comment either providing your name or having it be anonymous.

Drive-In Movie Theater
My hometown made national news earlier in the week when a SUV crashed into our movie theater, Cinerom. This seven theater, no stadium seating, no chairs that go back theater that I used to work at during my school vacations got a smash hit – literally. When you get phone calls from friends in Florida, LA and Seattle, amongst other places, saying they saw your hometown in the news, you know its national news at this point. Below is a photo from the accident. It looks like it came out of a movie, but I assure you, it really is a crash.

Going Gray
To even try to recreate what happened early Monday night will never do the actual event justice. My boyfriend was on the phone making reservations at a comedy club. I was playing with his hair, cause it’s all cute and grown out now, and noticed what seemed to be a fully grown, gray hair. And so I said, while he was on hold, “Ohmigod, Seth! You have a gray hair.” Gasp and then the Brit spoke, “Shut up. No I don’t. I’m only 27. Don’t joke about that!” So I pulled it out and put a definitely gray hair on his hand. He was still on hold, mind you. “Ohhhhh. Myyyyy. Gaawwwwd.” To say his mouth dropped is an understatement. I could do nothing except fall on the floor laughing at his reaction. “Stop laughing. Annie.” It was at that point he was taken off hold… “Stop laugh- Yeah two tickets for tonight. I’m sorry, my girlfriend just found a gray hair on me and she won’t stop laughing.” He hung up and I was still on the floor.

In near shock and disbelief over this tiny little hair, I tried to comfort the poor boy saying that everyone has a gray hair here or there and that the British usually age a little earlier and always age well. “What?! The British? Annie you are just making that stuff up right now. I can’t believe you think this is a British thing.” I really did though! I know several British men who went gray at an early age. Not that I thought this is the case with him. It was just one strand and we all know when you are really stressed over a period of time, you can get a random gray hair. And so for the rest of the night, I teased him about getting old. But what I wouldn’t give to see his reaction again to that hair. Priceless.

My Mom Loves Me
I have a tendency to always email my mom regarding someone’s address. She has taught me the importance of a thank you note and therefore, I write a thank-you note to anyone who gives me something. Every other month, I always e-mail her for my aunt and uncle’s address. Here’s how it went:

From: Annie Carroll
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 3:28 PM
To: Susan Carroll
Subject: address

I know I ask you this, but what is auntie’s address… is she in Florida now?

To which my mom replied:

From: Susan Carroll
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 3:37 PM
To: Annie Carroll
Subject: RE: address

2401 East Drive
Somewhere, FL 33426

GET AN ADDRESS BOOK!!!

This is not the first time she’s told me to do this. My mom really loves me. Ma, if you love so much, then maybe you can just get an address book for me and take the time to fill this kinda stuff in. Plus, who’s address would I put it besides Auntie Louisa and Uncle Francis?

VDay = <3

2007-02-14T13:00:00.000-05:00

No Love from the Snow Gods
It figures. I could have called this one two weeks ago. Of course a big snow mix of sleet, freezing rain, snow was predicted to pass over NYC today. I know when to be anxious over the weather when the meteorologists are vague in their reports. When they predict blizzards and snow over ten inches, I don’t think anything of it because they are generally inaccurate. It’s when they downplay what we are getting that a red flag appears. And of course, I was right.

Normally, I wouldn’t care, but I’m this close (insert image of my thumb and index finger a centimeter apart) to actually have a Valentine on Valentine’s Day. Twenty-five years on this planet and I’ve never celebrated VDay with a special someone on VDay. This should not be confused with last year. Last year I had a great Valentine’s Day, but it was celebrated on the 13th, not the 14th. And yes, I keep track of menial things like this. But alas, my boy is in the air, en route from London to New York. But until he lands, I’m still only this close (insert image of my thumb and index finger a centimeter apart). He also has to be at my place by 8:45pm in order to keep our dinner reservations I fought to get at this mmm mmm delicious restaurant, which normally does not take reservations.

On the topic of showing us some love, the boys in our office are really making the rounds. Matt was too nice to bring in mouth-watering, Valentine’s themed cupcakes from Magnolia for all the ladies in the office. Each one of us could not resist this cupcake at 10am, so we’ve each taken a bite or two or three. Yes, we all have half-eaten cupcakes and it’s only a little past noon. And Marc gave us cutout hearts that we all put up on our bulletin boards. We really feel special today. Chivalry is not dead after all!

A Ray of Sunshine!
She was at my CVS last night with her mom. I knew she lived in my hood from a newspaper article, but it was so funny to see her just getting some stuff with her mom. She was every bit as cute as she was in Little Miss Sunshine. All I could think of was that I am three feet away from an Oscar nominee. Who knew all you had to do was go to CVS to be amongst the stars? I so wanted to do that scream she does when she finds out she get into the competition and go, “Ahhhhh! It’s Little Miss Sunshine.’ I dunno… am I the child or is she? I obviously didn’t scream, but I really really really wanted to.

No Glove, No Love
Did you get your condoms today? I did. They were handing out free condoms in the subway today, with the subway letters on them, to look super special. I guess having the subway lines on a condom are suppose to help protect us. That MTA… always trying to protect us. If you see something, say something. Similarly, if you do someone, use something. I found it very appropriate and amusing that these were distributed on Valentine’s Day. No glove, no love. That MTA… so clever, so smart, so into sex. I only grabbed about twenty from the guy, so if you need a few, I got the hook-up. (No pun intended).

Writer's Block No More!

2007-02-09T17:21:00.001-05:00

ANNA NICOLE SMITH AND THE AMERICAN DREAM

I could see the news spread from one side of the office to the other. Literally. Being in the middle of the office, I could see the rooms to the left of me buzzing about it, then it was overheard by my room and passed on to the room next to us. And within a matter of minutes, everyone knew that Anna Nicole was dead. Do you know where you were when you heard?

That’s the age we live in today. When a famous person dies, you remember where you were and how you found out. Princes Diana, John Lennon, but Anna Nicole? She wasn’t a leader or an actor. How is it this woman’s death was not only headline news but “breaking news”? Because she’s typical and untraditional at the same time.

Take her rags to riches story. We’ve all heard this before: the actor who used to be homeless, was discovered on the street by an agent and now is some big-time movie star. Or the woman who had three jobs to support her family and miraculously won the lottery. It’s your traditional tale. Then, there’s Anna Nicole. Her story is one of those, “why didn’t I think of that?” stories. She goes from rags to riches by marrying a billionaire on his deathbed and then becomes famous for inheriting his money without his family’s consent.

Then there’s her blonde ambition story. She does what any young, rich, blonde girl does: poses for Playboy. But why be the same as all the others? She goes the extra mile with extra big implants and transforms herself into everyone’s favorite blonde: Marilyn Monroe with DDD size cups. It’s another, “why didn’t I think of that?” scenario. Why didn’t I transform myself into someone already famous so that I’ll be memorable? This makes her legitimately famous now because she’s actually done something besides be a gazzilionaire.

After that, we have the “The Anna Nicole Show” reality program where you never knew where the line of reality was. Unlike other similar shows that you just know are set-up, this one leaves you with uncertainty. The show, for anyone who watched it, its like having a beer. At first you are buzzed and enjoying yourself and then you come back down with a slight feeling of sadness. We laugh and then wonder, what world is this woman living in?

Finally, we have the anti-climatic tragedies. She gets fat by the way most of us do – snacking on junk food and drinking soda (as witnessed on her TV show). Finally, a playboy playmate is fat!!! Not stocky, not husky, but fat and then… loses all the weight through Trimspa (apparently). Then, her son mysteriously dies three days after she gives birth. He doesn’t die by murder or hit by a car or OD-ing. No. For a few weeks, we have no idea what killed him and then, we learn it was from mixing too many medications. A week after that development, we hear she got married. Nope. Rather, it was a ceremony full of promises with that skeezy lawyer friend of hers. And now, all we are left with is who’s the baby’s daddy?

So why did we care so much for this woman we deemed worthless? Because there is a little bit of her story in all of our stories. We’ve all been the victim of outcast, of tragedy, of struggle, of trying to figure out who we are, but most of us have not had to do this in the public eye. She did ask for all of it: to be in the spotlight, to be rich, to be famous, - to live the American Dream. But for all those people who think they have reach that, that “green light, that orgastic future,” they soon learn, for every action, there is a reaction. And I think it was that which ultimately brought her down.

I will miss Anna Nicole and all the things she did that made me roll my eyes. But I’d take her over Paris any day. The thought I’m going to leave you with, as I finish my reflection on the fast times and life of Anna Nicole Smith, is that the problem with getting what you want, is getting what you once wanted.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
I have so much doubt that this really exists. The only way I will believe it is if I go to Texas and see it for myself. Are people really this fanatic about high school football? I can easily see the obsession with any professional sport or even college athletics, but high school? Obviously, most of what I know is based on a television show, but some of it has to be true. I want to witness with my own eyes the pressure put on players by everyone besides the coach. I want to see stores closed and business being endorsed by players. I want to see desolate towns because everyone has flocked to the stadium. I want to experience what Texas cities are like on Friday nights. Because then, and only then, will I really believe that this really does exist. Until then, it’s just a show on TV.

THIS LOSER
This loser on the train keeps talking on his phone. Yes, you! I can hear every freaking word of your conversation and I really don’t care that Jimmy didn’t get his business plan done in time. To be honest, I don’t really care about any word of your conversation, yet I’m stuck having to sit here and have to listen to it like a punishment. It’s Sunday night. Take care of business during the day if you must, on a weekend no less. But right now it’s a little inappropriate because you are in a crowded, enclosed area and that’s just mean. Sure, I’d like to pick up the phone and talk with my boyfriend. But I don’t. Why? Respect. I’m not going to subject you to lovey-dovey talk. I won’t have you listen in on the “awwws” and “you’re so cute” being tossed back and forth. And yet you sit here like Tony Soprano going on and on and on with your business partner. So when I look over at you, it’s not a look of kindness. When I look over at you, I’m giving the look of “get off your goddamn phone before I come over there and hang it up for you.”

This always happens to me. I manage to pick the one seat where someone gets on the cell and does not hang up until we get to the finish line. Every-single-time. Talk about unlucky. I do believe in karma, but I did nothing to deserve this. I never talk on my phone in small, crowded places. I don’t deserve this and still I have to suffer through this. And as luck would have it, we just passed the Ansonia station, thirty minutes from my hometown. Hit me when I’m down. I’m hate this station. Ansonia.

I will look over at you every two minutes if that’s what it takes. And once you actually realize that I’ve been doing this every two minutes, once you look over at me, oh boy, I’m giving you the look of fucking death. And yes, I’m writing about you right now, you loser.

WHAT I WOULD GIVE
I woke up this morning thinking about my best friend growing up, Haley. We were friends for as long as I could remember. I think we became friends because both of our fathers were on the same softball team and our moms would bring us along as cheerleaders. Of course, Haley and I were much more interested in climbing the trees nearby and exploring the area. We also went to the same elementary school and were a force to be reckoned with on the playground during recess. For all of my childhood, Haley and I were the best of friends. We had so much fun in everything we did, even if it was nothing at all.

So today I woke up thinking about her. I’m not particularly sure why. I think it had to do with growing up and how some of my friends are now settling down and she came to mind, seeing how she got engaged in December. And I just remember thinking how I would give up anything just to go back for one day and be eight and play at her house. Play dress up with all of her old dance costumes, read her sister’s Seventeen Magazine, paint on her wall or play hide and seek in her basement. I had SO much fun growing up. I knew it then and I still remember it today.

Of course, later today I was over at the mall buying unmentionables J and this barely fifteen year old was in front of me, buying the exact same lacy, sexy unmentionables as me. Fifteen! Ten years younger than me! There should really be an age restriction on the type of undergarmets people can purchase. Why does this girl need sexy anything?! Sadly, it was her grandmother buying these things for her. I gave a small laugh when her grandma said to her, “Why are these 32B?” The girl clearly couldn’t fill them out. Anyone could see that. She responded, “Because that’s my size.” Honey, please. Yet grandma bought it all anyway and on their merry way they went.

GOOD TIMES

While on the subject of nostalgia, I’ve been having a lot lately. I know I’m old because I have a history, a past. Not old in the senior sense, but I have a past and responsibilities besides making good grades. (I don’t have to even do that anymore, make good grades.)

There are places I remember all my life
though some have changed
some forever, not for better
some have gone and some remain.

All places had their moments
with lovers and friends, I still can recall
some are dead and some are living
in my life, I’ve loved them all.

I have this one picture of the ten of us. It was right before we started eighth grade. That picture has come with me everywhere and has resided in every place I’ve been since it was taken. That was a good day, by the pool with the “Stand by Me” crew. That’s what we called ourselves because we would have done anything for one another. You think its corny now, but it is as true as anything I’ve ever known.

I counted and I collected 113 notes that year in eighth grade. And that’s just the notes I received! It was rather stealth of us to be able to write notes while paying attention in class and pass them off in the hallway. I remember, at her request, locking Vern in her locker and then having her forget her combination. I remember Ms. Gull yelling at me in the hallway – yelling to the point where teachers came out in the hallway to see what was up - for being late in class and going on for ten minutes as to why people with my “attitude won’t succeed in the world.” I remember Ms. Cianciolo measuring Meredith’s skirt to make sure it was halfway between her knee and waist. This was public school too. I remember turning red in the face every time Jared Schroeder passed by me. I remember Haley making me call a boy, pretend to be her and tell him I didn’t want to date him. I remember asking Jared Schroeder to dance with me at Class Night (aka our prom) and having him say yes. I remember I told my grandma before that night that I would call her only if I danced with Jared and sure enough, she received a call that night, right before my neighbor and close friend, Barry, through the biggest after-party for us eighth graders. I remember all of our sleepovers every weekend. Can you imagine having ten girls stay in your house? I remember watching Silence of the Lambs and being petrified for the rest of the night. I remember us on our band trip to Six Flags going into the hotel bar, dancing to La Marcarena and then getting in trouble for being in a bar underage and having to stay outside the theme park for an hour as punishment. I remember all the boys asking me about Thea because I was her best friend and they thought they’d have an “in” with me. I remember Vern-o and I running cross country track and how we were always the last, while Elena and Lisa were always up front. I remember our trip to Cape Cod on our TAG trip (Talented And Gifted program) and confronting Dawn at night in our cabin on why she broke down to our rival girls group that day. And I remember our two chaperones waiting outside that night for us to finish our conversation and reconciliation with Dawn. I remember Molly’s obsession with Jeremy D. and embarrassing her when he went up to get his award for best male baseball player. I remember how we all one first place for The Lip Sync/Talent Show, one group for Yellow Submarine, the other for Grease Lightening. I remember how all of us went to the photography room during our free period and printed photos while chatting. I remember Morgan kissing up to Lisa after we learned that Lisa was really jealous of how well Elena could run. I remember Vern and I splitting Meredith’s sandwich, the one she left for Haley. I remember Dawn teaching our math class because our teacher couldn’t. I remember how the ten of us took up one whole table at lunch.

There is something comforting in the fact I am still close with two of them and am in contact with three others. As they say at the end of “Stand By Me” the movie, “I never had friends like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”

Happy Daze

2007-01-24T23:28:00.000-05:00

Haven't we had enough of the Real World and Road Rules and even more obnoxious Real World/Road Rules Challenge?

Everyone is always tired on the subway during rush hour. Everyone is tired in the morning because it's early and everyone is tired at night because they've worked a long day.

Have you heard they are raffling off a rifle - yes a gun, ladies and gentlemen - in Virginia to raise money for a lawsuit against NYC. Now, I forgot exactly why they are suing the greatest city in the world, but Bloomberg went all ghetto Brooklyn on them and went so far to call these Virginians "horrific" people.

How much do we love tax return day? It's like a bonus without being a bonus. Really it's a catch-22 because I'm just getting back money I gave away.

State of the Union. I can tell you what state this union is in: disaster. Then, there's Iraq.

That subway ad to donate your eyes still freaks me out. I can't look at it (no pun intended).

Ohmigod - we had an actual fire in my office yesterday. We had to evacuate and everything. Our post producer was so on top of it -"Let's go, let's go. This is for reaaaal!!!" There was smoke and flames. We had to go down 17 flights of stairs and on my way down, I totally thought I shoudl've grabbed our video camera and make this into a segment on company bonding via fire evacuation. We got to go back up after 1.5 hours. Smelled like smoke for the rest of the day.

Haven't listened to the Chili Peppers since last week. That's a record. Still flossing and going to the gym, another record.

Next year, I'm going to be Veronica Mars for Halloween (if I was blonde and if people actually watched this awesome show).

All the girls on "My Sweet 16" are real, real brats. Can they show one not-spoiled rich kid? Just once.

Can you tell... I've been getting my fill of MTV. You always get the best of me!

On a personal note, the countdown is over! At least for the next five days. YEAH!!! I hate countdowns. Let me say that again just so you understand how serious I am: I hate countdowns.

Hot and Cold

2007-01-22T17:06:00.000-05:00

So funny how things can change so quickly. Yesterday I was going through my home desk, cleaning it out. It’s funny how much one accumulates once in the working world. Somewhere between going through all my insurance policies and bank statements, I was caught up in all the random photos I had tucked away. I had so many different photos, from when I was a baby to friends in high school to crazy college poses. I established one thing (well two, if you count the actual fact of me cleaning my desk) and that one thing was: that I really had lived. Twenty-five years on this planet and overall, it really has been a wonderful life, despite those awful high school years and surviving 9-11. It really has been a wonderful life. That was yesterday.

Today, I hate my life. And the worse part is that nothing triggered it. Things are fine in life, in work, in friendship. All good on all hoods and yet I’m so not in the mood for anything. I feel like I’m reaching for things I can’t get. I don’t even know sometimes what I’m reaching for. It feels like those high school days where the only thing I had to look forward to were television shows. Pathetic, but true. During the end of my youth, from 14-18, the only joy I got out of life was TV. Right now, I just want to get up, walk out and get on a plane to Jamaica and not come back for four months. And if I had a few thousand dollars to do that, I would consider it a viable option. Of course, this is probably a result of my hormones going out of control.

Tomorrow is a new day. And maybe, just maybe, the sun will come out tomorrow.